Aprilia: Marco Bezzecchi coping well with pressure but real test yet to come

Aprilia Racing CEO Massimo Rivola believes Marco Bezzecchi has already shown he can perform under “big pressure”, but says the true test will come when he is fighting for the MotoGP title.

Bezzecchi managed the weight of expectations in front of his home crowd to claim a decisive victory at the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday, leading a 1-2 result for Aprilia.

It marked the Italian’s return to the victory lane after two lacklustre races in which he was either comprehensively beaten by team-mate Jorge Martin or simply lacked the speed to fight at the front.

The result also allowed Bezzecchi to increase his championship lead back up to 17 points, giving him a small but significant buffer ahead of another packed month of racing in June.

Rivola praised the 10-time grand prix winner for the way he remained cool over the weekend, but is aware that the championship fight will only intensify in the second half of the season.

“I think the team played quite an important role and the family played an important role [in supporting Bezzecchi],” he said. “Every time Bez is under big pressure - and he was under big pressure [at Mugello] - he delivered a performance.

“It's a good sign and it's something that he can afford [to do]. If I think about the rest of the season, I don't think he was in MotoGP fighting for so many good results constantly, so I hope he can build more confidence, because there will come one day when the pressure will be super high for another target.”

Marco Bezzecchi, Aprilia Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / Getty Images

On the other side of the factory garage, Martin bounced back from a bruising Barcelona weekend in which he crashed six times to secure a double podium.

The Spaniard was also magnanimous in defeat after Sunday’s race, congratulating Bezzecchi for the victory instead of lamenting his own loss.

Rivola pointed to Martin’s strength and experience as key advantages in the championship fight.

“I think Jorge is happy because he realises [he is] fast, he realises that the bike is fast, and he realises that if he's having a bad day, he can do a podium anyway,” said the Aprilia boss.

“So, he has the big advantage that he already won a championship and he already lost a championship, so he is more used to fighting for that kind of position.

“I think that we now have two happy riders. Sooner or later, one of the two won't be happy, but we will try to manage.”