Marco Bezzecchi says Barcelona sprint struggles not linked to qualifying crash

Marco Bezzecchi rules out speculation about physical fitness as he explains why he struggled for pace in the Barcelona sprint race

Marco Bezzecchi says his poor performance in the Catalan Grand Prix was not down to any lingering effects from his qualifying crash, insisting he is fully fit.

The factory Aprilia rider could only muster a single point in the half-distance race on Saturday after passing the Tech3 KTM of Enea Bastianini for ninth on the final lap.

Starting 12th on the grid, Bezzecchi climbed to seventh in the early laps but struggled to maintain the same pace for the rest. He looked set to finish outside the points after dropping to 10th, but repassed Bastianini into Turn 1 at the start of the lap to secure the final point.

This marked Bezzecchi’s worst result of the season so far, having not been classified lower than any race he had finished across the opening five weekends.

The Italian suffered a big fall at Turn 2 in qualifying and was seen barrel rolling through the gravel, raising concerns about his fitness level on a weekend where his team-mate Jorge Martin has also crashed four times.

But when asked how he was feeling physically following the sprint, the championship leader replied: “No, I'm okay.”

Instead, the 27-year-old pointed to a lack of confidence in his Aprilia RS-GP for his lacklustre performance, with a poor starting position only added to his woes.

“Yesterday was a positive day for me in terms of feeling overall and in terms of pace, but today, I've been struggling a bit during the sprint,” he admitted.

Marco Bezzecchi, Aprilia Racing

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

“Of course, the mistake in the qualifying ruined the day a bit because starting from the back is more difficult.

“But in the sprint, I did not feel the best way. We just have to try to improve for tomorrow.”

Asked where he was lagging behind, he added: “A bit of confidence overall. Everywhere: Braking entry and acceleration. I was a bit slower compared to the others who were close to me. A little bit everywhere.”

Bezzecchi said that his crash in qualifying came as a surprise to him, but he admitted he went slightly over the limit as he started his second run in Q2.

“It was a mistake. With the better weather, I didn't expect that today,” he explained.

“In the second time attack, with the front a bit more ready in my mind, I didn't expect to crash. Also, because I risked just a little bit more. But we are always on the limit, so a little bit is enough to crash sometimes.”