Bezzecchi’s mood subdued despite second place; championship leader riding through the pain

From Aprilia Racing’s perspective, the one-hour qualifying session at the historic Brno circuit was a resounding success. Marco Bezzecchi made a strong comeback following his painful crash at the Hungarian Grand Prix. Whilst Bezzecchi was slow to get into his stride in free practice – having to go through the gravel once and finishing 16th, losing almost a second to Marc Marquez of all people – the championship leader turned the tables in the heated qualifying session.

‘Bezz’ found the perfect response to Marquez’s latest fastest lap. In the final session, the Aprilia ace beat the Spaniard’s fresh record by another tenth of a second. The fact that even this final lap wasn’t enough for first place on Friday was more a testament to Aprilia’s performance than a defeat at the hands of Ai Ogura.

Bezzecchi: “I’m not going to complain about today. The morning in Brno wasn’t easy, but the adjustments we were able to make through our work paid off. However, it’s also clear that the pace here is very high overall; lots of riders are going really fast.”

Marco Bezzecchi was not particularly happy on Friday evening in Brno regarding his physical condition: “When I came here, I thought my leg wouldn’t cause me any real problems – but today it did bother me. When I put pressure on the footrest coming out of the right-hand bends, it was a bit of a problem. It’s no big deal – but in MotoGP, only the fittest riders compete; you’ve got to be in top shape. The Italian was referring to the injuries sustained in the start-line pile-up at Balaton; ‘Bezz’ is riding with a torn muscle fibre in his right leg.

The day ended on a sour note. For an incorrectly executed start in the relevant ‘Start Practice Session’, he – the championship leader – was fined, as was stand-in rider Cal Crutchlow.

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07.08.2026 - 10:55