Marquez–Bezzecchi, near miss at 300 km/h: "It was scary"

Marc Marquez lived up to the MotoGP race predictions at Aragon, winning both races. He overtakes Marco Bezzecchi in the standings, but the Aprilia rider is a tough nut to crack and promises to fight until the very last round of this increasingly thrilling World Championship.

On lap six we witnessed the pivotal moment of the Aragon GP. Marc Marquez attacked Marco Bezzecchi in the chicane between turns 14 and 15; the two were side by side at over 300 km/h along the nearly one-kilometer straight leading to the final corner. The Ducati Desmosedici #93 and the Aprilia RS-GP #72 almost touched sides. "Yes, it was an incredible moment," said the Cervera rider. "I mean, a scary moment. It was a really strange moment, even on the bike."

The two bikes were almost pulled together due to aerodynamic turbulence. "Yes, we were going 330 or 340; and it’s incredible with these bikes because there was a moment when we were side by side, I wanted to pull away, he wanted to pull away and couldn’t," Marquez explained. "The bikes were locked together. Even in sixth gear, flat out, it wheelied on me, it seems impossible. But it’s true that with all this aerodynamics you get turbulence that’s sometimes hard for us to understand too."

Bezzecchi was so far to the left that he touched the white line. Marquez felt himself being dragged toward the Aprilia rival. "I tried to move to the right," continued the nine-time world champion, "but my bike was sucked toward him. And I think his bike was sucked into mine as well. If you watch the replay, there was even a small wheelie in sixth gear. It was impossible to get away from his bike."

A heart-stopping duel between two MotoGP title contenders that put on a show for the fans. "At one point, Marco backed off a bit because he was pushing too much. It was a scary moment... but it was a great show for the fans."

Bezzecchi confirms Marquez’s feelings. "Yes, in general I agree with Marc. I mean, it was tough. I was looking for the best line at Turn 15 when he passed me. I wanted to try to push the limit because I knew Marc would attempt an attack at the chicane. I felt his bike, so I knew he would try something there."

When the two MotoGP prototypes drew close, ‘Bez’ felt a strange pulling sensation... "I wanted to keep the distance, but I kept getting closer, and then it turned into a constant back and forth. I was a bit too far left, so I had to brake a little earlier." This allowed Marquez to pass Bezzecchi and take the lead. The Italian also lost second place to Pedro Acosta under braking at Turn 16. The KTM rider used the slipstream and passed the Aprilia around the outside under braking.

At that point Marc Marquez took control of the race and managed to break away from Acosta, hammering the pace even at the end. Third place is the best result for Marco. In the Riders’ World Championship standings, #93 has overtaken Bezzecchi and is now second, 19 points behind Jorge Martin. Bezzecchi is third, 24 points behind his Aprilia teammate. In two weeks the action returns at Misano and the race for the MotoGP title will heat up even more.

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