‘A common mistake’ - Marco Bezzecchi explains huge Assen MotoGP crash

Erstwhile MotoGP championship leader Marco Bezzecchi says his huge crash at the Dutch Grand Prix was “a common mistake” in his first public media debrief since.

The Aprilia rider suffered a massive off early in the main race at Assen while battling for the podium.

He escaped serious injury, but had “not an easy week at home” recovering from the crash, which marked his third consecutive Sunday non-score.

It cost him the championship lead to Aprilia team-mate Jorge Martin.

“It was not an easy week at home,” Marco Bezzecchi said.

“The crash in Assen was a big one. Fortunately, no broken bones, but a lot of pain all over my body.

“Not some easy days. So, basically, I’m very, very happy to be here.

“I was just a little bit too fast, and when I touched the gas I lost the front.

“So, basically this. It was a common mistake, but in a very fast corner. So, this is why the crash was bigger of course.”

Marco Bezzecchi ‘not in a normal situation’

Bezzecchi has low expectations for the Germany weekend as he awaits to see what his physical condition will be like.

Asked if no longer leading the championship takes the pressure off of him, he replied:

“No. In a normal situation, for sure the pressure and the approach can change in a normal situation.

“For my case, it’s not a normal situation, because realistically, physically, I’m very far from 100%.

“So, the target for me, at the moment, is not like a normal weekend. I hope to perform good. I hope to fight for the podium or the win.

“For my case, I hope to see day by day, or session by session, because I couldn’t try the bike, I couldn’t train at home.

“I couldn’t do almost anything apart from medical checks. So, at the end, there’s nothing in my mind. In my mind, the only things is to get on the bike tomorrow in FP1.

“I will have try to manage everything for the whole weekend.”

Following Bezzecchi’s crash, a number of riders raised concerns about the safety of Assen’s gravel traps.

But Bezzecchi doesn’t feel this made any difference in his crash.

“Well, honestly, for my case, I think with another kind of gravel it was going to be the same [outcome] because the speed was huge,” he said.

“At the end, I crashed at 200km/h. So, for my case, it doesn’t really matter too much the kind of gravel; it’s more the speed that makes the difference. So, for me, it was not a big issue.”