Marco Bezzecchi: “So many shakes I went wide” - Aprilia Sprint pace unrewarded at Le Mans

Fifth on the opening lap of the Le Mans Sprint meant Marco Bezzecchi was finally in position to exploit the race pace Aprilia believes he has possessed since pre-season testing.

But it all went wrong on lap 3 when his RS-GP became unstable when braking in the slipstream of another bike, sending him off track and down to last place.

“I went into the gravel again, and I lost the race again,” he said, having run off in similar circumstances at the previous Jerez round.

The Italian could only salvage 17th by the finish but was credited with the fourth fastest lap of the race and kept pace with the podium trio for much of the 13-lap distance. Bezzecchi was also the fastest rider on track on the final lap.

Bezzecchi said of the ‘shaking’ he experiences behind other MotoGP bikes: “We have to analyse the data, try to understand if I can do something different while I'm riding and try to avoid this kind of movement from the bike.

“The problem comes more when I'm in the slipstream of someone else, because when I'm alone, I stress less the bike in braking.

“But when I am in slipstream and I have to force more on the brake to stop in the same way, then the bike starts to move.

“When I was alone, I had a couple of movements, but not as big as the one I had when I went wide.”

The issue is more critical in the early stages of a race, when riders are not only closer together, but carrying more fuel and fresh tyres.

“At the beginning is more difficult with the full fuel tank and new tyres. But from the [Jerez] test we made a step in that area, so the things that Aprilia did at home but also on track, helped us to improve,” he explained.

“But still this kind of movement - I have to understand how to manage, at least how to save a bit more, because I had so many shakes that I went wide.

“Maybe try to stop the bike in a way which I don't yet know but I have to understand.”

Bezzecchi confirmed that techniques he had used to keep his former VR46 Ducati calm in such circumstances were not transferable to the Aprilia.

“Naturally, the kind of things that calmed down my old bike I tried as soon as I jumped on my new bike, but these kinds of things are not working.”

Trackhouse rider Raul Fernandez went on to finish as the top Aprilia rider in the Le Mans Sprint, in tenth place.

Bezzecchi was then among those to correctly stick with wet tyres for the Sunday grand prix restart, but endured two pit stops and a crash on his way to 14th place.

“Throughout the weekend, we saw great speed from Marco - unfortunately, not demonstrated by adequate results - but I’m confident that they will arrive soon. Hard work always pays off,” said Aprilia Racing CEO Massimo Rivola.

Lorenzo Savadori, continuing in place of the injured Jorge Martin - whose Aprilia future is now uncertain - was the only rider to choose slicks before the sighting lap.

After a penalty-free bike swap to wets, Savadori finished in ninth, his best yet MotoGP result and highest grand prix finish since the same position at the 2009 Italian 125GP.

Meanwhile, Johann Zarco's Honda victory leaves only KTM and Aprilia without a podium so far this season. 

KTM lost a second place by Maverick Vinales in Qatar due to a tyre pressure penalty.