MotoGP

Marco Bezzecchi leads home Jorge Martin for first Aprilia 1-2 since 2023

Motorsport Technology
7 months ago
5 min read

Marco Bezzecchi headed home Aprilia teammate Jorge Martin in the Brazilian GP to secure the factory team’s first 1-2 since 2003.

Fabio di Giannantonio finished in third after a titanic scrap, ahead of Marc Marquez, Ai Ogura and Alex Marquez.

Pedro Costa was seventh as Fermin Aldeguer, Johann Zarco and Raul Fernandez rounded out the top ten.

Credit – Mateus Bonomi / Anadolu via Getty Images

In a dramatic race full of wheel-to-wheel action and overtakes aplenty, it was Bezzecchi who was a class apart, however, the Italian notching fastest lap after fastest lap to claim a dominant win.

Victory marked a fourth consecutive victory and with it the lead in this year’s championship.


“Friday was super tough. Honestly, I never thought I could leave with a win. I was feeling not good, feeling super lost I was trying to compensate over riding, over braking, over doing everything to try to be closer.

“After the practice I sat down with my crew and said let’s try to calm down. We work on everything that we can. All the details, all the lines and we try to adjust this weekend because I want to be better.


“Saturday, I start in a better way. In the sprint I wasn’t quick enough to fight for the podium, but I try to understand from behind, I try to copy them a little bit and try to adjust even more my riding and this morning I felt better.”

Incredibly, on race day, Bezzecchi seems a different animal. Practically untouchable.

Indeed, he has now led 101 consecutive laps in MotoGP and is the first rider in the modern era to win four races in a row.

“I thought that Jorge and Marc they were faster than me. So I said, Ok I try to start (well) and on this track it’s super difficult to overtake so I try to stay in front. For sure they will try to pass me and we will have a hard battle.

“But then after a couple of laps I saw I was pulling away, so I said let’s try to stay calm because the front tyre will be gone in a few laps.

“But I felt good. I continued to feel good so I said ok, I continue to push, we will see. And at the end it was like this!”

Bezzecchi’s dominance of course is of his own making. His own extraordinary talent. But Aprilia have also provided a sensational bike. One that Craig Scarborough has documented for its innovation.

READ ALL ABOUT THE APRILIA F-DUCT INNOVATION HERE

“The guys are working super hard, their effort is amazing. I really want to thank them, all the factory, the engineers on the track. The guys behind the scenes are really giving their heart always. Seeing them like this I can’t give anything but giving my all.”

For Martin, second place represented a welcome return to the podium, the 2024 champion battling back from a succession of bad crashes last year.


“Emotions are always high but yesterday I was a bit more happy because after a long fight, I was back. Today I consolidated the result to close the weekend this way is absolutely crazy.

“I’ve been locked in for five and a half months. Training, recovering, training, recovering. I didn’t miss one day of diet. I was always focused on my target and this is the consequence of that. For sure, hard work pays off. I just need to continue.

“Tomorrow is another day, but we will fight to stay competitive in Austin. Today very happy, thankful to Aprilia, my personal team, my girlfriend, my family. It’s crazy.”

It all means that the Aprilia riders lie first and second in the championship standings, but Martin thinks he can close the gap further.

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“I think the level is getting closer and closer. For sure it’s his moment he won four races in a row which is crazy. Not a lot of riders in history did that. He’s one of the great names.

“My mission is to catch him. I know it’s a matter of time. The fight will be long, but I think I’m in the fight. I need my time.

“I don’t want to be optimistic and have a lot of expectations, but I am a world champion and will be delivering as I always did.”

We won’t have to wait long before we get to see how this intriguing battle plays out.

The next race takes place in Austin, Texas from 27-29 March.


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