Marco Bezzecchi’s one-word response amid Aprilia MotoGP tension speculation

Marco Bezzecchi had a one-word response to suggestions that the atmosphere in the factory Aprilia MotoGP team could change after he and Jorge Martin crashed out of the Hungarian Grand Prix two weeks ago.

The two Aprilia Racing riders fell as a result of Jorge Martin losing control in braking for the first turn. As Martin tried to gather his bike up, he careered into the side of Marco Bezzecchi and took his team-mate and title rival out.

It’s the kind of incident that could change the atmosphere within a team, especially one in which the two riders have a relationship which has been characterised by disagreements in the past.

Bezzecchi was evasive when asked about the potential for a change in the dynamic at Aprilia Racing, simply saying “No,” during the pre-event press conference.

The Italian enters the Czech MotoGP this weekend with a 20-point lead over Martin and thankful that he is relatively unhurt, although he hasn’t been able to ride since the Hungarian Grand Prix two weeks ago.

“I’m okay,” he said. “It was a big impact, especially on my right side of the body, and my right hand and my right leg were things that were worrying me a bit more. 

“Fortunately, the hand was okay, I made some checks and everything was fine, so after three or four days the pain was almost completely gone. 

“In the leg, I had a problem in one muscle, a small cut in one muscle, but fortunately also there nothing crazy – it’s still a little bit painful, but I think this will not affect my way to ride, hopefully. 

“I couldn’t ride any motorbike at home in between these days, so tomorrow morning will be the first time after the crash. Anyway, at the end, fortunately everything is fine. 

“For sure it was a tough day on Sunday, but anyway we made a good weekend until then and now is already the past so we need to concentrate on this round and the next ones.”

Start devices have been at the centre of the discussion around MotoGP’s turn one safety again after the Balaton Park crash. Some riders, like Diogo Moreira, think they played a part in the Balaton Park crash, and Jorge Martin’s opinion aligns with the Brazilian’s in this case.

Bezzecchi, though, thinks that the devices were not the cause of the Balaton crash, although he is receptive to the idea to ban them.

“I think that for sure it’s something that we should try before saying it’s the solution,” he said regarding the removal of front start devices.

“At the end, it’s a good proposal that we had, we received, and I think we will start trying, but at the end the only way to discover if it’s better or not is when we will try. 

“I don’t think the Balaton incident was because of the devices, but at the end for sure it can be a solution. But it’s difficult to say without trying.”

Martin: “Now is the time to be more united than ever”

Jorge Martin, for his part, was apologetic when he spoke to the media on Thursday in Czechia.

The Spaniard said that his experience of injury last year, when he missed most of the season through a series of injuries from incidents that took place between February and October, made him especially keen to avoid causing an incident such as the one at Balaton Park two weeks ago.

“For sure the first thing I want to say is to apologise to all the riders and manufacturers who were involved,” said Martin.

“This was my first thought. As a rider I really never want to crash and I never want to crash into other riders and even less after what I went through last season. 

“I don't really want to injure anybody, honestly. 

“I was really in pain after that Sunday. I was really mentally struggling to accept what happened. Now I’m cold [cooled down] I understand that this is racing, these things can happen, and the important thing for me is to improve from my mistakes and to try to be a better rider and a better person. That's it.”

The 2024 MotoGP champion also called for Aprilia to be “more united than ever” after the events of the Hungarian Grand Prix.

“I think it's time to be more united than ever because if we are one against the other one it's like, I don't know, shooting ourselves,” Martin said. 

“We have to be intelligent. I will be intelligent. 

“I spoke with Marco [Bezzecchi] after the race twice. For sure it was difficult in that moment. 

“I spoke today with Massimo [Rivola] and I think we are on the same line. 

“Now it's different compared to two weeks ago and everything is on the same direction.”