Bezzecchi in the interview: “Two Aprilias against Marc? It’s everyone against everyone”

– The 2026 MotoGP season is heading into the decisive phase, and the title fight is as close as rarely before: Only 24 points separate the top three riders in the overall standings, while the premier class is visiting Misano, right at the doorstep of Marco Bezzecchi.

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Jorge Martin leads with 256 points ahead of Marc Marquez with 237 and Bezzecchi himself with 232 points, after the Ducati rider significantly reduced his deficit with a double win and 37 points scored in Aragon.

For Bezzecchi himself, the recent season phase was anything but easy: crashes, injuries, and a race ban made life difficult for the Aprilia rider and ultimately cost him the world championship lead.

In an interview with Motorsport.com Italy, a sister platform of Motorsport-Total.com, the Italian speaks openly about his physical condition, his assessment of the world championship three-way fight, and his first impressions of the Aprilia prototype for 2027.

Question: “Marco, let’s start with a perhaps trivial question, but one that we think could be very important for you: How are you?”

Marco Bezzecchi: “I’m doing pretty well. The shoulder is fine, I’ve recovered 98 percent, so in the last few days I was finally able to properly train my upper body.”

“It was tough, more than I expected for a pure collarbone injury! But now everything is fine. As for the knee, I still have some discomfort. It will take longer to heal.”

“The problem is that fluid keeps building up, especially after a race weekend. After Aragon, I had to do therapies for the next four or five days to reduce the swelling.”

“I can’t train the way I want, I always have to be careful not to let it swell before the race weekend, and afterwards I have to make sure it goes down again so I can walk better.”

“Overall, I could feel better, but it’s something we knew would happen.”

Question: “What is the main problem the knee injury causes you on the motorcycle?”

Bezzecchi: “I have very strong pain under the kneecap. Due to the fluid accumulation, it’s hard for me to keep the knee bent. It feels like this area is being compressed.”

“It’s hard to explain exactly what’s happening, and generally it’s complicated to describe the pain. Basically, it’s like this: When I push on the left footpeg and keep the knee strongly bent for a long time, it causes me problems.”

Could Misano be a turning point?

Question: “Could Misano be a turning point in the world championship, considering that Jorge Martin, Marc Marquez, and you already have a decent lead over your pursuers?”

Bezzecchi: “It’s still a bit early for that, because every weekend now brings significantly more points than before. You can just as quickly gain many points as lose them.”

“Jorge, Marc, and I are a bit closer together, but I speak for myself: Of the three, I am the one who has fallen back a bit due to the injury. It will be important to keep making progress, stay as close to them as possible, and be ready to fight in the last part of the season.”

Lessons from the difficult phase

Question: “Between Hungary and the Sachsenring, you had a difficult phase. What did it teach you?”

Bezzecchi: “Definitely. Unfortunately, you learn more from the bad moments than from the good ones, but you learn a lot. Something different happened every weekend. Each one teaches you something different.”

“You learn not to give up, because in difficult moments you often think: ‘Why am I even doing this? Oh, just let it be…’ But that’s exactly when it’s important to give a little more. That’s the most important thing, even if it sounds obvious. But when you’re in the middle of it, it’s crucial.”

Question: “During this difficult phase, you also had two serious crashes. In one, you were injured because of a step between asphalt and runoff area. Do you think this could be a topic of discussion for the future of MotoGP?”

Bezzecchi: “If the gravel hadn’t been there in Assen, I would have driven all the way to Groningen! (laughs). I was going at 200, so… It’s true that the crash looked terrible, and believe me, it was also terrible to experience!”

“It’s a place where you go fast, and it’s not easy to find a solution there. At the Sachsenring, the bigger impact was on the asphalt. In the end, it’s normal to get a kind of double impact, because there’s always an edge between asphalt and gravel.”

“Is that something that can be softened? Can solutions be found? I don’t know, but everyone is working intensively on track safety.”

Question: “But how do you manage to get over accidents like the one in Assen? That’s something hard to explain from the outside…”

Bezzecchi: “We’re basically used to it. It’s true, it was a heavy crash, but motorcycling also means that for us. You get on the bike, and when you finally close the visor and take off, you feel things that only motorcycling can give you. And that’s why it’s worth it.”

Question: “What are these things you feel and don’t want to give up? Explain it to us…”

Bezzecchi: “First of all, the connection with the motorcycle, with the machine. That develops over time, it gets stronger the more you ride and race. But then it’s also a kind of pleasure that only it can give.”

“Everything else is fun, but it doesn’t give you these sensations, this incredible adrenaline. Also finally being alone with it [the motorcycle]. Maybe that’s the most beautiful thing for me.”

Aragon the step back to the top?

Question: “Let’s take a step back, Marco. In Aragon, you scored two third places. The impression, however, is that these results had a much greater significance beyond the points. It was like seeing the Bezzecchi from the beginning of the season again.”

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Bezzecchi: “I partly agree. There was definitely better speed compared to Silverstone. In Silverstone, Friday went well, and I was fresh. Then on Saturday I started to struggle more, also because I was already very tired, and I also had difficulties in qualifying.”

“In the race, however, we were fast, but it’s also true that this track suits our motorcycle quite well. In Aragon, on the other hand, I was fast on Friday and also on Saturday, although I was more tired. And that’s a track where historically we had difficulties.”

“There was an improvement, and that is of course also due to physical reasons. I had fun in Aragon, we worked well from Thursday on, immediately. And that was great. From the inside, it’s hard for me to understand what I convey outwardly. But I can tell you that I really had fun.”

Martin or Marquez: Who is the tougher opponent?

Question: “The current situation in the championship shows two Aprilias, yours and Martin’s, against the Ducati of Marc Marquez. Are you more afraid of the fight with Marquez, or is the other Aprilia, Jorge’s, the one challenging you?”

Bezzecchi: “It’s not that I’m afraid of anything. They are two similar but at the same time different concerns. Sure, at the moment Martin is the one you have to worry about the most because he has the lead and a gap over Marquez and me.”

“But you should never underestimate Marc. He is an exceptional rider, has a lot of experience, and has won a lot. Not that Jorge hasn’t won much, but Marc has won more. That’s why you always have to keep an eye on Marc.”

“But if you can talk about ‘fear’ at the moment, although it’s not really that, I think Jorge is the one you should fear the most.”

“He is fast, he knows how to manage a race, and when he sees an opportunity, he goes for it. If he realizes it doesn’t work, he brings the result home. And that’s exactly what has brought him to where he is now.”

Question: “If it actually happens later in the season that you continue to compete with two Aprilias against Marc’s Ducati, could you, you and Martin, think about attacking Marc together, or is that harder to handle than it sounds?”

Bezzecchi: “I don’t know. It’s never really two against one. It’s more like everyone against everyone.”

Question: “You know you have to catch up points on Martin and Marquez. Which Marco Bezzecchi will we see from Misano? What will your approach be? Will you attack headlong to catch up, or will you try to stay consistent without taking big risks?”

Bezzecchi: “I will have to master both well. As you said, I have to catch up, and that means I have to attack. At the moment, I still have to recover physically.”

“I know how I felt when I was fully fit, and unfortunately, I’m not there yet. I’m not someone who ever complains excessively, but unfortunately, that’s the truth, so…”

“In any case, the goal is to continue the physical improvement and regain the confidence I had at the beginning of the season. From there, we’ll see how we proceed.”

Aprilia not fastest everywhere

Question: “In your opinion, will the material available to you be powerful enough to fight for the title until the end, or do you think you will need further innovations?”

Bezzecchi: “The motorcycle has clearly improved a lot, and the overall package is super competitive. But you must never stop development just because you think you are competitive, because meanwhile others make progress, improve.”

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“In the end, we have made a nice step forward, because in the past we had several tracks where we were not so competitive, while now we have managed to equalize the performance somewhat compared to the others.”

“But often we are not the strongest. That means we have to keep working, and in Noale they are already doing that tirelessly. They don’t need me to drive them greatly. Of course, I like to do that, but they manage damn well on their own!”

Impressions of the 2027 prototype

Question: “Rightly, your focus is on 2026, but 2027 will bring a quite significant technical change to MotoGP, with the introduction of new motorcycles and the arrival of Pirelli as tire supplier instead of Michelin. We know you had the opportunity to test the Aprilia for next year. What impressions did it give you, and what differences did you notice in riding?”

Bezzecchi: “That’s a cool change. I tested the motorcycle once, and it’s hard for me to give you many details. Not because I don’t want to, but simply because I spent very little time on the new motorcycle.”

“I don’t want to spread false information. It’s an interesting change, and it makes sense, both regarding the motorcycle and the tires. You will have to get used to everything well.”

“We have another test in Austria, and I will bring more insights home. It looks good. As for riding… I only tested it once.”

“I don’t feel like I changed much on this motorcycle. I didn’t pretend to be different. I tried to understand what it conveys to me, but the main focus is on 2026.”

Question: “We have heard from many test riders that the change in tires will be bigger than in motorcycles. Did you perceive it that way too?”

Bezzecchi: “Definitely, there is a big change in all areas. The change of tire manufacturer will be significant. It will be a matter of work to get used to it and understand what works best for one tire type and what for the other.”

“At the moment, I’m not worried, I just don’t think too much about it because it’s not the right time yet. But in the end, it’s still a motorcycle.”

“Riding will change a bit, the sensations, the behavior, the grip. A lot. But it will always have two wheels, a throttle, a handlebar. We are trying to get used to it. Theoretically, we are capable of that. I hope so!”

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