Marco Bezzecchi on “tough” Malaysia MotoGP Friday: ‘We need to use Q1 as an advantage’

Aprilia MotoGP rider Marco Bezzecchi says he will have to “use Q1 as an advantage” having struggled to 15th in Practice on Friday at the Malaysian Grand Prix.

MotoGP’s in-form rider at the moment was expected to emerge from Friday’s running at Sepang as one of the favourites to fight for victory in the sprint and grand prix.

But Marco Bezzecchi faces an uphill battle to keep his podium run going after failing to achieve a direct Q2 spot on Friday in 15th.

He will join a volatile Q1 group that includes the likes of Pecco Bagnaia, Luca Marini, Fermin Aldeguer and Raul Fernandez.

Bezzecchi says Aprilia “made a step” from FP1 to Practice, but it “was not big enough” to close in on the leaders.

“It was a tough first day here,” he said.

“This morning was not too bad, actually. But the conditions were super tough already.

“This afternoon, when we put on the correct tyres, I made a step, but it was not big enough to be closer to the other guys.

“Then we worked during the session, but we weren’t able to find a step, especially for the time attack.

“So, it was not enough to go directly through to Q2. But we will work hard tonight to try to use the Q1 as an advantage and try to be stronger tomorrow.

“I was struggling a bit on the drive to put the power on the ground. I was struggling a lot to find traction.

“This, for me, was the main issue. Then, when you are struggling on traction, you also try to force a lot on braking to recover.

“But that was not the way to stop the bike better. Let’s try to understand if also by riding, I can improve in terms of my approach to the corners.

“Tomorrow will be a tough one, but we are here to fight. So, we will try our best to pass and go through to Q2.”

Aprilia has typically struggled at Sepang over the years, with its best grand prix result a sixth.