Marco Bezzecchi’s blunt response about pressure after costly Misano MotoGP crash

Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi insists the pressure of trying to win the MotoGP San Marino Grand Prix on home soil did not contribute to his costly crash from the lead.

The Aprilia rider started his home race at Misano from pole position after setting a new lap record in qualifying, though he was beaten by Marc Marquez in the sprint.

Marco Bezzecchi led at the start of Sunday’s race, but crashed at Turn 13 on the opening lap, in a damaging blow to his championship hopes.

Victory for Marquez, with Jorge Martin fading to fifth, has put the Ducati rider top of the standings, with Bezzecchi 33 points down.

“Unfortunately, everything was going well, but I did a mistake in Turn 13 and I lost the front,” Bezzecchi said of his crash when speaking to the media afterwards.

Asked if he was feeling pressure to win on home soil given his form, Bezzecchi said bluntly: “No. When you start first you want to win. It doesn’t matter if it’s Misano.”

Bezzecchi added that he got slightly out of shape through the fast sequence of right-handers leading to Turn 13, which ultimately pushed him off the ideal racing line come the braking zone.

“For sure, when you have a full fuel tank, you have to manage the braking point a little bit better,” he explained.

“I had a bit of a shake in the fast part, so when I braked I didn’t close the line perfectly and unfortunately I lost the front.”

Bezzecchi’s DNF on Sunday at Misano marks his fifth Sunday non-score of the season, and fifth in the last seven rounds.

But he says he is glad the Austrian Grand Prix is coming up in just a few days to allow him to “reset”.

“It’s tough, but at the end we can’t go back in time,” he said.

“So, we will work hard.

“Fortunately, we have Austria very soon, so we will go home, we will try to reset, we will work in the gym and then we’ll move to Spielberg.”

The crash comes weeks after he suffered multiple injuries in a fall in Germany, though he says - at this stage - he hasn’t aggravated anything in his Misano spill.

“Looks like it’s OK, but the adrenaline is still going.

“So, tonight I will understand better, maybe tomorrow morning. But it was not a big crash.”