“Not as fast as the top lads”: Bezzecchi inherited third place in the sprint

Marco Bezzecchi only just managed to secure direct entry into Q2 on Friday at the MotoGP event at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, and his start to Saturday didn’t go to plan either, finishing 15th in the second free practice session. It has been a mixed race weekend so far, but for the rider currently third in the World Championship, Saturday’s sprint race nevertheless ended on a positive note with a third-place podium finish.

The Aprilia rider was also able to hold on to fourth place on the grid, which he had secured after improving his time in qualifying, throughout the race. ‘Bez’ also benefited from Pedro Acosta’s crash shortly before the finish; without it, a podium finish over such a short distance would have been out of reach: ‘I wasn’t as fast as the top riders. I was lucky in the end because of Pedro’s mistake, but I was in the right place at the right time.’

Bezzecchi auf der Verfolgung von Marc Marquez

Foto: Gold and Goose

After Marco Bezzecchi was beaten by his team-mate Jorge Martin in a head-to-head battle as the Spaniard fought his way back to victory, the Italian tried to close the gap on the Ducati frontrunner Marc Marquez ahead of him, but fell behind after a riding error.

Bezzecchi: “The race was tough, but I didn’t give up and tried to stay in the mix.” Following his crash on the first lap of his home Grand Prix at Misano, it was “important for the rider with start number 72 to secure a good result”. He said he would “try to improve further on Sunday”.

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MotoGP World Championship

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Ahead of Sunday’s Grand Prix, Marco Bezzecchi remains in third place in the World Championship standings and, with 248 points, is now 38 points behind the sole championship leader and team-mate Jorge Martin. Fabio Di Giannantonio remains in fourth place with 223 points.