How Marquez pressure forced Bezzecchi into error that cost him San Marino GP victory

Aprilia MotoGP rider Marco Bezzecchi has explained the mistake he made under pressure from Marc Marquez, which led to him losing victory in the San Marino Grand Prix.

Although Marquez made a brilliant launch from fourth on the grid to grab second on his factory Ducati, Bezzecchi fended off his initial advantages to hold on to the lead.

The two continued to run in close formation for the first 10 laps, before the championship leader ramped up the pressure on Bezzecchi in a mid-race bid to snatch the top spot.

On lap 12, Bezzecchi ran wide at Turn 8 in what was his first significant error of the weekend, allowing Marquez to breeze past him and move into the lead.

To his credit, the Italian kept Marquez honest until the chequered flag fell, even setting a series of fastest laps in the final stretch to retake the position.

But the six-time champion eventually prevailed in one of the closest battles of 2025, denying Bezzecchi and Aprilia a second grand prix victory of the season.

Speaking afterwards, the 26-year-old explained that he was struggling more on braking on Michelin’s medium compound after winning Saturday’s sprint on the soft rear tyre.

This, combined with Marquez being particularly strong in sectors 2 and 3, forced Bezzecchi into an error that ultimately made the difference between finishing first and second at Misano.

“It was difficult for me because since the beginning of the weekend, the difference in the two compounds at the rear was braking,” he explained. “With the soft, I was able to stop better, with the medium, I was struggling a bit more.

“It is a similar sensation I had last year. But this year the difference was less, so I was happy already because last year I was the only one who couldn’t use the medium.

“Then unfortunately from lap 8, lap 9, I started to struggle in braking. I struggled and struggled. 

“Marc was putting a lot of pressure on me and I knew he was strong in that area of the track, from Turn 4 to Turns 9-10. 

“So I knew I had to defend there but having this issue in braking, I made that small mistake. The bike made a strange movement. I didn’t want to lock the front, so I had to release the front brake and go a little bit wide and because of this Marc passed me.”

While Bezzecchi managed to stay with Marquez after losing the lead, even closing the gap to just three tenths in his late push for victory, the Italian conceded that Marquez’s Ducati was simply performing better on worn tyres.

Marco Bezzecchi, Aprilia Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images

“Marc was super fast. I think they still have something more, especially from mid-race to the end, when the tyre goes down, they are able to be smoother and quicker,” he explained.

“In free practices, we suffer less but in the race the conditions change and we suffer more.”

Bezzecchi remains the only non-Ducati rider to win a dry-weather grand prix this season, having triumphed at the British Grand Prix earlier in May.

He also has three other grand prix wins on his CV, courtesy of an impressive sophomore premier class campaign with VR46 in 2023 when he emerged as an outside title contender.

But on a weekend where he came so close to defeating MotoGP’s benchmark rider in a one-to-one fight, he admitted that it ranked among the best races of his career.

“Besides the victory, this is maybe the best race of my life,” he said. “I was super competitive all weekend, pole position, sprint win, second place but close to Marc, who is at the moment the strongest of the grid. 

“I’m happy, I gave my whole. I’m destroyed to give the fans the best show that I could. I want to say thanks to them for the support, they have been amazing for me, and hopefully they enjoyed.”