Wasteful Bezzecchi, costly error in the Sprint: Aprilia also delivers a 'dressing-down'

Disappointing Sprint for Bezzecchi, who crashed when the podium seemed certain: points thrown away and another lesson to learn to become a MotoGP world champion.

Marco Bezzecchi’s maturation process is not yet complete, as the Sprint race in Austin confirmed. On lap eight of eleven he was in second place, which he had taken the lap before, when he slipped and retired. The eagerness to chase down Pecco Bagnaia—then leading the race and ultimately pipped at the end by Jorge Martin—led him to make an avoidable mistake. Podium and points squandered, and the top of the world standings lost (Martinator +1).

Massimo Rivola, CEO of Aprilia Racing, spoke to Sky Sport MotoGP about the mistake made by the rider from Rimini: "I'm sorry, because you mustn’t throw away these points. It’s already the second time this year. At the moment, this is Marco’s only real limit; otherwise, he can do well." Spot on. That limitation needs to be eliminated to aim for the title, something Martin already achieved with the Prima Pramac Ducati in 2024 and which perhaps makes him readier than his teammate.

Bezzecchi was very disappointed in his interview with Sky Sport MotoGP: "A shame, I made a mistake I shouldn’t have made. I pushed a bit too hard on the brakes. I was coming up strong and should’ve been more patient, but instead I made this mistake. A pity, but I’ll try to make up for it in the long race. I braked a bit later than the previous lap and the bike got a little unsettled; I still tried to put it into the corner and I didn’t make it. That was the mistake."

The rider from Romagna admitted the mistake; he pushed a bit too much at that moment and paid dearly for it. He’s aware he needs to tweak his approach for the future, as he’s now had two crashes and two retirements in three Sprints in the 2026 championship: "I need to improve a lot, even though right now I just have to think about Sunday, because I need to try to salvage the weekend. We’re fast and I’m starting fairly far up, so let’s try to have a good race and bounce back."

Focus is on today’s race, which will run on the medium rear tire, preferred by Bezzecchi and also by Martin, who already used it in the Sprint. Aprilia’s potential is high and the team dreams of another one-two, like in Brazil. When there’s this kind of potential, it’s a shame to waste it and throw away points. Surely MB72 has learned the lesson and will manage himself better over the long race.