Marco Bezzecchi unhappy MotoGP leader: his mission for Le Mans
Marco Bezzecchi has so far carved out a starring role for himself in the first MotoGP rainbow events, yet in the overall standings he boasts just 11 points ahead of his closest pursuer: teammate Jorge Martin. The reason is very clear to interpret, since of 101 total points only 6 have come from the Sprint Races. It is precisely this aspect that represents the great challenge for Aprilia’s Romagnolo, who aims to dispel this little taboo on the demanding circuit of Le Mans.
“Simply on Saturday I made more mistakes – Bezzecchi admitted without mincing words to ‘Sky Sport’ -. In the Sprints of Thailand and Austin I slipped, the one in Jerez is another mistake even if different. There I was eighth, maybe I would have passed someone and maybe not. Surely some little points could have come that I didn’t have instead. The real fact is that I made several mistakes, and this is something I have to try to fix. In fact, I want to focus more on me than on the balances that may be there at Le Mans. Those, in all honesty, I don’t even think about.”
Le Mans is, moreover, a land of bittersweet memories for Bezzecchi, who won at the Circuit Bugatti in 2023 but never managed to achieve any other top 10 finish in his entire MotoGP career. “The track is very nice, but it seems easier than it is,” noted the Aprilia centaur. “The track is really tough, to make a difference you have to work on many details in the best possible way. You have to be right especially in braking, then there is the weather that changes often and you have to adapt quickly.”
The weather itself could be a decisive variable over the French weekend, with forecasts announcing rain especially on Friday and Sunday. This is a factor that could reshuffle the cards on the table, making Bezzecchi’s task even more complex on a track where last year he finished Sunday’s race in fourteenth position, preceded by seventeenth place in the Sprint.
On the front of the main rivals, the moment that Marc Marquez and Pecco Bagnaia, the two official Ducati riders who in the first four races of the season have not yet managed to take a win or a podium in the long races on Sunday, is significant. Marquez himself, fifth in the standings 44 points behind the leader, lucidly analyzed the GP-26’s problems: “The results show that we have speed but not consistency. So that’s where we have to focus or try to understand why we lack this consistency, which last year was our strength in all kinds of conditions, on all kinds of tracks. This year we have been much more inconsistent.” The nine-time world champion also identified the most critical technical areas: “I notice it especially in the fast corners; that’s where I struggle the most, especially in the left-hand corners, where I’m definitely going slower than last year.”
Bagnaia, for his part, keeps a low profile and does not hide his difficulties: “The Ducati is certainly not working as we expected, so our moment is quite difficult. I then have been in this situation for more than a year, unfortunately. The bike on braking remains nervous, it’s no longer like it was when it allowed you to take off really strong, get in really strong and stay there.” Words that resonate in an almost specular way with those of his boxmate, confirming how the problem of the GP-26 is structural and not related to the individual rider. In this context, Aprilia CEO Massimo Rivola made no secret of his satisfaction: “We are also benefiting from the fact that Marc Marquez is clearly not okay. We have been working great over the winter, and Marco Bezzecchi has the advantage of starting further up the grid than others.”
At Le Mans, eyes are also on home idols Johann Zarco and Fabio Quartararo, both of whom are eager to bring joy to the transalpine crowd that fills the stands at Circuit Bugatti every year. Zarco, surprise winner of last season’s French GP, is aiming to again take advantage of a possible opportunity offered by the weather: “In the rain, all the movements are more delicate and I can control them better than in the dry, where instead you push a lot and can make mistakes. If the same opportunity as last year comes up again, I will have to stay focused and take advantage of it.” More cautious the approach of Quartararo, who with his Yamaha aims to consolidate the feeling found in Jerez: “Unfortunately, expectations are lower than last year. When you want to overdo it you make a mistake: I try to take advantage of the energy of the public to give something more, but I don’t think it can help me to do a better result. At best I can give my best.”
