Aprilia ace Bezzecchi (1st) is certain: “Marc held back a bit”

In qualifying at Aragon, Marco Bezzecchi was one hundredth of a second faster than Alex Márquez and 0.038 seconds faster than Marc Márquez – the battle at the top has never been this close on a MotoGP Friday. For a long time, it looked as though the Ducati riders, particularly MM93, would be unbeatable on Friday, but in the final minutes of the 60-minute session, ‘Bez’ really turned up the pace once again on his Aprilia RS-GP.

Since his heavy crash at the Sachsenring, in which he broke his left collarbone, Bezzecchi has been struggling with physical problems. What’s causing him the most trouble, however, is his left knee, which he still cannot bend properly. It seems as though the pain didn’t affect him on Friday? “No, it’s a problem. My knee is causing me major problems,” the Italian replied in the subsequent press conference. “But we’ll just have to live with it.”

Nevertheless, he was very fast on Friday. “I felt really good today. I had a good feel for the bike and got off to a good start this morning,” emphasised Bezzecchi. He finished third in FP1 on Friday morning. “I managed to make some progress between the two sessions. But I’m still making too many riding mistakes. On top of that, the pain never completely goes away with all these left-hand bends. I feel better than I did at Silverstone, but as far as the pain is concerned, it’s very tough at this stage of the championship. The knee injury is dragging on.”

Bezzecchi: “On Saturday, Marc will be the man to beat”

Is the knee injury changing his approach to the title fight? “I’m taking it day by day at the moment. Perhaps I also need to manage my energy better. Friday, for example, is the day that demands the least of you. Even so, it’s still a very challenging day,” mused Bezzecchi.

The track at Aragon offers little grip, which poses a challenge for the riders every year. “The track conditions here are always very strange – and they can change quickly. The grip level isn’t the best. On top of that, there’s the nature of this circuit. When you brake whilst leaning into a corner, you never really put any load on the front tyre,” analysed the 27-year-old. “But I’m satisfied. Marc held back a bit too, because he didn’t do the second flying lap. I’m sure he’ll be the man to beat on Saturday.”

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MotoGP World Championship

29.08.2026 - 08:35