Marco Bezzecchi admitted his San Marino Grand Prix crash was painful to accept, but insisted it was not caused by the pressure of fighting for the MotoGP championship.
The Aprilia rider started his home race from pole after setting a new Misano lap record, putting himself in an ideal position to fight for victory and strengthen his title hopes. Instead, his race ended on the opening lap after he lost the front of his RS-GP at Turn 12 while leading.
Bezzecchi was trying to keep Marc Marquez behind him after making a strong start, but his challenge ended almost immediately. The crash allowed Marquez to take control of the race and eventually claim victory, moving level with Jorge Martin at the top of the championship standings.
Despite the circumstances, Bezzecchi rejected suggestions that the pressure of racing at home or fighting for the title had influenced his mistake.
Instead, he accepted responsibility for what happened and explained that he simply pushed beyond the limit.
The Italian said the crash “hurts a lot”, particularly because he had the pace to fight for the win. He also pointed to the positives from the weekend, including his pole position and the progress Aprilia had made with its bike.
Source: OtoDream
Bezzecchi’s mistake nevertheless came at a costly time. Before the race, he was firmly involved in the championship fight, but the retirement left him 33 points behind the leading pair of Marquez and Martin.
The result was especially frustrating after Bezzecchi had shown impressive pace throughout the weekend. He became the first rider to break the 1:30 barrier at Misano in qualifying, setting a 1:29.982 to secure pole ahead of Marquez.
His crash also ended Aprilia’s hopes of converting its strong home performance into a victory. With Jorge Martin eventually finishing fifth, the manufacturer was left without a podium despite showing strong pace across the weekend.
Bezzecchi will now have to put the disappointment behind him quickly. The championship battle remains open, but another costly retirement has made his path to the title considerably more difficult.
For now, the Aprilia rider is refusing to blame the pressure. He knows the mistake was his, but his pace at Misano also showed that he remains capable of fighting at the front when he gets another chance.
