Marco Bezzecchi has dismissed speculation that his disappointing performance in the Barcelona sprint race was linked to his dramatic qualifying crash, insisting he is fully fit and ready to fight.
The factory Aprilia rider managed just a single point in Saturday’s half-distance race at the Catalan Grand Prix, crossing the line in ninth after a last-lap pass on Tech3 KTM’s Enea Bastianini. It was a far cry from the form that has seen him lead the championship standings through the opening five rounds.
Starting from 12th on the grid, Bezzecchi initially climbed to seventh but couldn’t sustain his early pace. He slipped to 10th before reclaiming the final points-paying position with a decisive move into Turn 1 on the last lap. The result marked his worst finish of the season so far—a stark contrast to his consistent top-10 runs in every prior race.
The Italian’s weekend took a turn for the worse during qualifying when he suffered a violent crash at Turn 2, barrel-rolling through the gravel. The incident, combined with teammate Jorge Martin’s four crashes over the weekend, raised questions about Bezzecchi’s physical condition. But the 27-year-old was quick to put those concerns to rest.
“No, I’m okay,” he said when asked about his fitness after the sprint. Instead, Bezzecchi pointed to a lack of confidence in his Aprilia RS-GP as the root cause of his struggles, with a poor grid position only compounding the issue.
“Yesterday was a positive day for me in terms of feeling overall and pace, but today I’ve been struggling a bit during the sprint,” he admitted. “Of course, the mistake in qualifying ruined the day a bit because starting from the back is more difficult. But in the sprint, I did not feel the best way. We just have to try to improve for tomorrow.”
Pressed on where he was losing time, Bezzecchi was candid: “A bit of confidence overall. Everywhere—braking entry and acceleration. I was a bit slower compared to the others who were close to me. A little bit everywhere.”
Reflecting on his qualifying crash, Bezzecchi admitted it caught him off guard but acknowledged he had pushed too hard on his second Q2 run. “It was a mistake. With the better weather, I didn’t expect that today,” he explained. “In the second time attack, I went slightly over the limit.”
For fans and riders alike, the Barcelona weekend has been a rollercoaster of highs and lows. Bezzecchi’s resilience will be put to the test as he looks to bounce back in Sunday’s main race, armed with the knowledge that his pace—and his fitness—are still championship-caliber.