Marco Bezzecchi picks out key Marc Marquez quality that led to Czech MotoGP domination

Aside from championship leader Marc Marquez, MotoGP’s in-form rider at the moment is arguably Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi, who was able to spend much of last weekend’s Czech MotoGP analysing the riding style and approach of the factory Ducati rider.

The Brno race marked Marc Marquez’s fifth grand prix win in a row. Including Sprints, the Ducati Lenovo Team rider is unbeaten in 10 races.

Bezzecchi, on the other hand, took his fourth podium from the last six races, including Sprints, and in the final races before the summer break the Italian has arguably emerged as Ducati’s strongest challenger – even if he hasn’t been able to match the pace of Marquez.

Bezzecchi led the opening seven laps of the Czech MotoGP race last weekend before being passed by Marquez at turn three on lap eight. The Italian was unable to respond to Marquez in the remaining 14 laps of the Brno circuit, but the time spent behind the Spaniard allowed him to make some observations about the championship leader’s riding style.

“Let’s say that he is a bit stronger especially in the traction area compared to me,” Marco Bezzecchi said on MotoGP.com’s After the Flag show.

“I’m able to ride strong in braking, I was, I think, also stronger than him; but then, when he was opening the throttle, he was carrying a lot of corner speed, a lot of momentum, and he was really smooth.

“Maybe to brake so strong, I wasn’t really smooth and, in this track, it’s crucial because it’s very fast and flowing.

“So, I didn’t really see him closely for a lot of time but I saw that he was riding very smooth – this was the biggest difference compared to myself.”

In the post-race press conference, Bezzecchi added that Marquez’s pace at Brno had been evident from Friday.

“For sure, Marc was strong everywhere,” the Aprilia Racing rider said.

“You could see this from yesterday, but also Friday. He has been strong in every condition."

He added: “I think they are in a very good moment in terms of work that they do in the box and his setting, his style, everything is good.”