Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi says he is determined to take the 2026 MotoGP title fight down to the wire despite losing significant ground to his rivals at last weekend’s San Marino Grand Prix.
Bezzecchi let a potential victory at Misano slip out of reach when he crashed from the lead at Turn 13 on the opening lap of the race.
The Italian had made the perfect launch from pole position after setting a record-breaking lap in qualifying, but he threw it all away while running ahead of title rival Marc Marquez.
This was the latest in a series of mistakes Bezzecchi had made in what has proven to be an-error prone campaign, leaving him a hefty 33 points behind joint championship leaders Marquez and team-mate Jorge Martin with eight rounds remaining.
While the 27-year-old has proven that he is among the fastest riders on the grid, questions have been asked about whether he is mature enough to put up a sustained challenge, especially against a rival of Marquez’s calibre.
“Well, it’s a big gap, but it’s also not crazy,” said Bezzecchi at this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix. “Now with the format we have, the possibility to gain or lose points is a little bit bigger.
“Obviously, Marc is a tough rival. So at the end it’s not easy, but at the moment honestly my target is to try to get back to my consistency. Before the [Sachsenring] injury, I started to have a little bit of up and down. Before, I was super consistent and then I started to make a couple mistakes too many.
“Then the injury, then the comeback was good, then last Sunday, I made a mistake. So my target is to try to come back with my consistency. Then, once I reach my target, I will try my best to be competitive and try to be in the fight until the end.”
Marco Bezzecchi, Aprilia Racing
Photo by: Getty Images
Misano marked the fifth time in seven grands prix that Bezzecchi failed to score a point in a Sunday race, whether due to mistakes, injury or a ban.
This slump in results has seen him go from leading the championship by 17 points after the Italian Grand Prix to trailing Marquez and Martin by 33, representing a swing of 50 points.
Bezzecchi said he dug deep into his Misano crash to gain a full understanding of his error, even though he found replays of the incident “painful” to watch.
“I analysed the data and everything,” he said. “Obviously, from my mistake. I tried to understand what I did wrong in all the details. I already kind of understood without watching the data.
“Looking at the data at the end is painful, but it gives you the chance to understand the details. At the end, we take out the positives from the weekend. There were many positives, starting from the speed, but also the consistency during the sprint.
“Obviously, a bit sad about the end, but we have another chance this weekend.”
Bezzecchi made a spectacular comeback from his Sachsenring injuries with a double podium finish at Silverstone last month, putting his title challenge back on track.
Asked whether it’s now easier for him to recover from setbacks like Misano, he said: “No, because it’s better to not have any setbacks, but at the end it’s part of the game.
“We are fast, we are fighting and we must take risks, unfortunately. Obviously, it’s painful, it’s our job. It’s not easier. Every time, it’s different.”
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– The Autosport.com Team
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