MISANO ADRIATICO: Marco Bezzecchi of Aprilia claimed victory in Saturday’s sprint at the San Marino Grand Prix after championship frontrunner Marc Marquez fell from the lead on Ducati’s territory, marking the first time this season that the Spaniard did not reach the podium in sprints.
A determined Marquez had pushed his way up from fourth on the grid before passing polesitter Bezzecchi midway through the sprint to seize the lead.
However, six-time champion Marquez, who had secured 14 sprint wins this season, made an unusual error in the final sector, leading to his crash from the lead and allowing Bezzecchi to claim his first sprint victory since the 2023 Dutch Grand Prix.
“It was an amazing Saturday, extremely pleased to achieve the sprint victory.” “I can’t quite recall my last one,” Bezzecchi remarked, celebrating the victory with his mentor and MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi.
“The race was flawed due to some problems we encountered along the way.” Despite encountering these issues, I managed to maintain a solid pace and was aware that Marc was pushing his limits. “Extremely joyful, I put in my best effort.”
Nonetheless, no matter the outcome of Sunday’s race, Marc will have an opportunity to clinch the title at the Japan MotoGP in two weeks, bringing him equal to seven championship victories with his fierce competitor Rossi.
His accident primarily aided Alex Marquez of Gresini Racing, who secured second place and reduced his brother’s lead in the standings to 174 points.
He also surged 77 positions ahead of Marc Marquez’s struggling teammate Francesco Bagnaia, who ended up over 16 seconds behind in 13th and is now wary of Bezzecchi, who is only 28 points behind him in the championship standings.
Marc’s crash elicited applause from a segment of the audience despite his affiliation with Ducati, as many Italian fans of motorcycling have been unable to forgive him for what they perceive as his role in preventing Rossi from securing his eighth MotoGP title in 2015.
Rossi has publicly labeled Marquez a “dirty” rider for colliding with him during that year’s second-to-last Malaysian MotoGP, which resulted in Rossi being penalized and starting the last race of the year from the back of the grid, effectively securing Jorge Lorenzo the championship.
