Marco Bezzecchi emotional after Mandalika victory: “My world came crashing down!”

Marco Bezzecchi’s MotoGP victory at Mandalika was far more than just a sporting success. It was the first time since Mugello in May that the Italian had stood at the very top of the Grand Prix podium. In between, he had suffered serious injuries following crashes at Assen and the Sachsenring, endured a gruelling road to recovery and, most recently, been forced to retire from the Indonesia Sprint through no fault of his own.

On Sunday, he delivered the answer: starting from second on the grid, Bezzecchi settled in behind Raul Fernandez, shadowed the Trackhouse Aprilia for much of the race and made his move on lap 19 of 27. He then immediately pulled away and cruised to victory.

With Fernandez, Jorge Martin and Ai Ogura in the following positions, Aprilia secured the top four places in a MotoGP race for the first time. Bezzecchi also secured the 300th victory for an Italian rider in the premier class. He now trails by 46 points in the World Championship. Martin reclaimed the lead from Marc Márquez, who, as the best-placed Ducati rider, could only manage sixth place.

A breath of fresh air after difficult months

In the Parc Fermé, Bezzecchi’s first thoughts were for the people who had supported him through the difficult months. “It’s absolutely brilliant! I’m delighted. Winning again was my goal after breaking everything at the Sachsenring. I’m really happy to be back at the very top of the podium. The battle with Raul was a good one. My team and I deserve this success – especially the team. They never stopped working and went through difficult times with me. I dedicate this result to them, but also to my family and myself.”

Marco Bezzecchi gewann erstmals seit Mai wieder ein MotoGP-Rennen

Foto: Gold & Goose

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It also became clear in the interview that followed just how much the long spell without a GP win had weighed on him. Immediately after his injury, Bezzecchi was already thinking about when he might win again.

“I feel good and I’m very happy. It was a difficult and long period after the injury. My first thought in hospital was: when will I win again? At the start, everything went quite well, then I had a really tough time. My comeback wasn’t bad, but it was difficult to fight for the top positions again.”

Praise for Raul Fernandez

At Mandalika, he regained the confidence he needed. Instead of putting Fernandez under pressure early on, Bezzecchi managed his energy and his bike’s reserves carefully. “Fortunately, our pace was good today. We worked well throughout the weekend, and I controlled the race well behind Raul. I knew he’d be extremely fast at the start. But I also knew that if I managed my energy and stayed close enough without getting too close, I might have a bit more left in the tank at the end. That’s why I’m very, very happy to be back on this spot on the podium.”

Aprilia stellte mit Bezzecchi, Fernandez und Martin das GP-Podium

Foto: Gold and Goose

Fernandez made it a tough challenge for him despite a serious injury. The Spaniard had broken two fingers in a crash at the start of the Sprint race. On Sunday, however, he led for 18 laps and held on to second place right to the finish.

“His pace didn’t surprise me. But when you consider the conditions he was riding in today, with injured fingers on the hand he normally uses for braking, it’s naturally impressive,” said Bezzecchi, paying tribute to his team-mate.

“We saw throughout the weekend that Raul was perhaps the fastest. That’s why I was impressed, but ultimately not surprised. I’d expected him to be extremely fast. Fortunately, I also got through the weekend well and was quick too.”

46 points behind: Bezzecchi keeps his World Championship dream alive

This victory was particularly important for Bezzecchi’s World Championship hopes. Following Saturday’s retirement, Aprilia’s racing director Massimo Rivola had described the Grand Prix as a race his rider had to win to stay in the title race.

Bezzecchi had already travelled to Indonesia expecting to make up ground on his rivals. The early end to the sprint race hit him all the harder for it. “Of course, this victory can help. I came here this weekend knowing I could be quick. If we worked well, there was a chance to make up points. And yesterday, my world came crashing down.”

Nevertheless, he wanted to put the incident at Turn 1 – which had also taken Fernández out of the race – behind him. “As I said: a racing incident can happen. What can you do then? Cry and not start today? Or try your best and get as much out of it as you can? That’s exactly what I did. I was confident in the work we’d done this weekend. That definitely helped.”

Despite the victory, he was left with the feeling that even more could have been achieved at Mandalika. “As Massimo said: it feels more like a loss than a win. But ultimately, we’re still very much in the running.”

Celebrating with a pepper mill: how did that idea come about?

On the cool-down lap, there was little sign of this sober assessment of the World Championship. Bezzecchi celebrated exuberantly – and was handed a pepper mill by Aprilia test rider Matteo Baiocco. Behind this unusual gesture lies a story from his circle of friends.

“It’s a long story involving my friends back home. They sometimes come to the races; you’ve probably seen them at Mugello. They’ve also become friends with Matteo Baiocco and explained to him that we’re always trying to sprinkle pepper everywhere.”

“My friends and I started this bit of nonsense and got Kimi involved too. We told him: ‘Come on, always bring a bit of spice to the races – you’re part of it, after all.’ Matteo surprised me with it. I didn’t know anything about it, but it was brilliant,” he said, describing the celebrations during the lap of honour at Mandalika.