Marco Bezzecchi: Marc Marquez “hiding a bit” still “man to beat” at Aragon
Marco Bezzecchi topped Aragon MotoGP Practice but believes Marc Marquez was “hiding a little bit” and remains "the man to beat".
Marc Marquez was outpaced in a track session at Aragon for the first time since joining Ducati in 2024 on Friday afternoon, when Marco Bezzecchi and Alex Marquez both edged ahead of the reigning champion on their final time attacks.
However, all three were covered by just 0.038s, and Bezzecchi insisted the Ducati Lenovo rider, quickest in FP1 and on top for most of Practice, had not shown his full hand.
“I was happy,” said Bezzecchi. “It's true that Marc was, for sure, hiding a little bit, because he didn't even do the second time attack, and I'm sure tomorrow he will be the man to beat. But, at the moment, it's okay for me.”
The Italian was referring to Marquez keeping the same set of tyres for both of his time attacks, rather than fitting another new soft rear for the final run.
Nonetheless, it was a morale-boosting performance from Bezzecchi, the only non-Ducati rider in the top five and still struggling with the collarbone and especially knee injuries suffered at Sachsenring.
“I was feeling good with the bike. I started well this morning and in between the sessions, I was able to make a small step,” he said.
“In terms of riding, I'm still making a couple of mistakes. But I felt good. It's true that also, physically, being always on the left with my knee is - the pain never goes away but I feel better compared to Silverstone.
“In terms of pain, this part of the championship, unfortunately, is going to be tough, because the injury on the knee is quite long [to recover from].
“Normally the first day is very demanding. So, I need to, manage myself and try to save energy to arrive in a better shape, compared to Silverstone, on Saturday.”
KTM's Pedro Acosta, when asked to pick his surprise of the day, felt Bezzecchi's performance was a bigger upset than Johann Zarco's top ten on his MotoGP return.
"I will say P1 from Marco, just for the reason that Marc here is super fast. But maybe he's managing the weekend, saving power or whatever.
"I was quite surprised seeing Marco P1. Zarco was impressive, more than a surprise."
The Italian, who starts this weekend 31 points behind team-mate and title leader Jorge Martin, added:
“It's a tough situation, because when you can't push too much on the footpeg, the sensation of ‘riding on ice’ [mentioned by other Aprilia riders on Friday] is even worse.”
Meanwhile, when asked about the new rear aero on his RS-GP, Bezzecchi said only: “It's very beautiful!”
Martin was seventh quickest, one place behind Silverstone winner Raul Fernandez.
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
