Marco Bezzecchi after record-breaking Thailand lap: ‘Marc Marquez still the favourite’

Bezzecchi continues to play down his chances in 2026 despite a dominant performance in Friday practice

Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi dismissed suggestions he is the favourite for the Thailand Grand Prix, insisting reigning MotoGP champion Marc Marquez has yet to reveal his true pace.

Bezzecchi was in commanding form throughout Friday at Buriram, setting the initial pace in FP1 before smashing the lap record in practice later in the afternoon.

The Italian finished the day more than four tenths of a second clear of his nearest rival, Ducati’s Marquez, while team-mate Jorge Martin backed up his form by finishing a solid fifth on the sister RS-GP.

All Ducati riders have labelled Bezzecchi as the rider to beat at Buriram, with Marquez suspecting that the latter is better at exploiting Michelin’s special tyre casing for Buriram and Mandalika.

However, the six-time race winner still believes Marquez will be much stronger over the remainder of the weekend, pointing to the Spaniard’s tendency to find more speed overnight after practice.

Asked if he is the favourite for victory in Thailand, Bezzecchi told MotoGP.com: “Not yet, honestly. I continue to think about the weekend my way.

“I'm sure Marc is the favourite. He is still super strong and he is always there in the right moment. I think tomorrow and Sunday, he will be super fast.

“But he is not the only one because Diggia [Fabio di Giannantonio] was very fast today. Alex [Marquez] as always is fast. Pedro. Jorge was super quick as well. We can never relax. We have to stay focused and we have to continue this way.”

Marco Bezzecchi, Aprilia Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images

Although Bezzecchi’s best effort of 1m28.526s was nearly two tenths quicker than Francesco Bagnaia’s pole lap for the 2024 Thai Grand Prix, the Aprilia rider felt he still left some time on the table amid mixed conditions towards the end of the session.

“This morning I started in a good way, and we were also able to carry this positive sensation into the afternoon,” he said.

“In the afternoon, I wanted a little bit more, especially in terms of pace, because with the soft I'm still not feeling super good, but also the conditions this afternoon were a little bit strange with the weather.

“I had wind and also some light rain in one moment, so we had to change a bit the plan during the session, so the team reacted in a very, very good way, even if we didn't plan to stop so early. So, I can't complain. Hopefully, we can continue this way tomorrow as well.”