After a collision with Marc Marquez and a sprint to forget, Marco Bezzecchi doesn’t beat around the bush: “I broke my…”

For Marco Bezzecchi, the Sprint Race at the Qatar Grand Prix lasted only four laps; a crash that has almost completely dashed his chances of fighting for the world title until the very last Grand Prix. The Aprilia rider crashed following contact with Marc Marquez as the two were battling for the lead.

Although race officials classified the incident as a simple racing contact, and Aprilia Racing—starting with CEO Massimo Rivola—made no secret of its disappointment over the decision not to penalize the Catalan rider, Bezzecchi himself preferred to shift his perspective, analyzing the dynamics of the final turns leading up to the impact.

“I saw Marquez going a bit wide on the braking zone, so I tried to take a tighter line—which had been one of my strengths all weekend,” ‘Bez’ told Sky Sport. “I couldn’t see him because I was already leaning toward the inside line; then I felt the impact and ended up on the ground. No penalty? I can’t know how they reasoned—it would be a waste of time and energy. The only thing to do is focus on preparing as best as possible for tomorrow’s race.”

Bezzecchi didn’t hide his disappointment, however, even though he tried to steer the blame away from Marc Marquez. The rider from Romagna said he was annoyed by the negative trend in Saturday’s races, which doesn’t match the good results he’s achieved during the flying lap in practice: “I’m sick and tired of throwing Saturdays away. I do well in qualifying, but then for one reason or another, the Sprints turn into a nightmare.”

“Fortunately, my qualifying result guarantees me a good starting position for tomorrow as well: we need to analyze the data and fine-tune the final details ahead of the race,” concluded Bezzecchi, who, remaining at 332 points, fell another twelve points behind Marquez in the standings, staying in third but now trailing by 79.