Marquez gambles on the tire—did Bezzecchi make the wrong choice? The riders explain

The Aprilia rider explains why he and the team decided to use the soft rear. MM93 also explains his choice of the medium, which proved decisive.

Marc Marquez won the MotoGP sprint race at Misano Adriatico by defeating Marco Bezzecchi in a duel that has essentially been ongoing all weekend. They are the two most competitive riders, and it’s likely they will also be the main protagonists in the long race, although surprises can never be completely ruled out in a top-level championship.

The Ducati champion won it right from the start, when he managed to overtake the Aprilia poleman at the first corner and set a pace that made him unassailable to the finish. Twelve points that bring him even closer to the top of the overall standings, still led by Jorge Martin, now only 14 points ahead.

The fact that Marquez had a better Sprint start than Bezzecchi was somewhat surprising, because there was a different choice for the rear tire and, in theory, the Italian should have been favored. He mounted the soft, while the Ducati rider chose the medium, which is normally less explosive in the opening laps and provides an advantage especially from mid-race onward.

Instead, we saw a Marc immediately sharp and able to dictate his pace, unlike Bez who in the early phases couldn’t fully express his potential with a tire that should theoretically have benefited him. Perhaps the stability issues that Aprilia suffers at certain points of the Misano track when running the soft weren’t resolved. Or, simply, Marquez was better.

Marquez, interviewed by Sky Sport MotoGP, explained why he decided to use the medium compound instead of the soft in the Sprint: "I trusted Ducati’s data. I hadn’t tried the medium rear in FP1 and this morning with the soft I saw I was fast, but I struggled a bit, because I wasn’t riding as smoothly. Instead, in FP1 I had managed to ride well, comfortably. Looking at the data, my crew chief and I decided to use the medium. It was a risk, but I knew that with either tire I could finish second or third. Choosing the medium could give me a chance to win and that’s how it went. I think on Sunday Marco will be the strongest on the medium, he’s been fast all weekend. I’d sign right now to take 20 points in the race."

In hindsight it’s easy to think that Bezzecchi should have made the same choice as Marquez, but the Aprilia rider explains that if he could go back he wouldn’t change a thing: "I’m happy with my choice, I think maybe with the medium I would have struggled more in the opening laps. With the soft we’re still a bit lacking in stability, so in the first laps I found it very hard to tip in the bike, it was very nervous and this went on for the entire race distance in the fast section of the track, while in other parts it was better. It’s my best Sprint result this year, I did everything right today. Marc was better than me at Turn 1 and in the first three laps, I congratulate him and hope to give him a harder time on Sunday. Marquez’s tire choice didn’t surprise me that much; when they told me, I still decided to stick with the soft."

Even if the Ducati rider might have a small advantage from having already used the medium tire today in the sprint race, Bez will be able to leverage Martin’s data, as he made the same choice as his compatriot. In the race, everyone should use the medium, a tire with which the Romagnolo and Aprilia feel more comfortable. A great battle for victory could unfold in the Misano GP.