Why Marco Bezzecchi’s Mugello MotoGP Sprint “was gone” after first turn

Marco Bezzecchi’s MotoGP Sprint “was gone” after the first corner, he says, after finishing fourth.

Bezzecchi had scored only one podium from the opening six Sprints of 2026, but starting from pole position after breaking the lap record in qualifying at Mugello seemed to open an opportunity for the Italian.

However, Bezzecchi braked too early at the first corner and dropped to fifth, which by turn eight had become sixth after Fabio Di Giannantonio passed him, too.

The Aprilia Racing rider recovered to fourth by the end, but he had known from the first corner that his race was run.

“I wanted a little bit more, I didn’t expect anything,” Marco Bezzecchi said of his Sprint.

“It’s true that when you start from pole position you always would like to make better, but I made a mistake at the first corner, I lost many places, and immediately from that point I understood that the Sprint was gone. 

“So, I tried to maximise everything with this error, and fourth place was the maximum.”

Bezzecchi had slower pace than the two Aprilias at the front of the race, those of Raul Fernandez and Jorge Martin. The two Spanish riders had chosen the medium-compound rear tyre, whereas Bezzecchi made the more typical choice for the Sprint and went with the soft.

Despite his pace deficit to his fellow RS-GP riders, Bezzecchi felt that the start was more impactful on his race than the tyre choice.

“I think that the race was a bit worse because of the mistake in the first corner, instead of the tyre choice,” he said. “But you will never know and I also will never know.”

Bezzecchi was also not certain that he will choose the medium rear tyre for Sunday’s 22-lap race.

“Tomorrow, with the longer race, the pace will be a little bit slower, so the soft has some clear advantages [compared to] the medium,” he explained.

“For sure, it’s different to ride with the soft or with the medium. At the end, it’s not completely sure, the decision, but we will analyse everything as always in the box to try to take the best decision for us.”

Bezzecchi enters tomorrow’s race having dropped three points to Jorge Martin in the championship, meaning his advantage at the top of the MotoGP standings now sits at 12 points over his team-mate.