Marco Bezzecchi has echoed Marc Márquez’s comments after the Japanese GP, describing a boring race for him. However, the VR46 driver started strong, since after being pushed back by contact at the start, he quickly regained four places by displaying a very convincing pace in the peloton.
Describing a race “fairly static” subsequently, Bezzecchi related: “It was a decent race. Again, not the best, but not so bad either. On the first lap I had a big battle with Álex Márquez, and unfortunately we lost a little time. But then, I was still able to do some nice overtaking on Quartararo, the Aprilia, Jack Miller.”
“All that happened in the first seven or eight laps, and then it was quite boring. Once I was seventh, I got a little closer to Franco [Morbidelli]. Then he took Brad Binder and, at that point, I got a little closer again because they got in the way, but there were only two rounds left.”
“At the same time, I was trying to escape Diggia, who was following me and getting closer, and we were doing a bit of a yo-yo. But we can’t say that it was a race full of emotions,” added Marco Bezzecchi, finally seventh, 19”3 behind the winner. “The second half was pretty boring, honestly, but I was at the limit and that was the most I could do.”
A positive trend for several Grands Prix
His weekend in Japan, “OK overall”saw the Italian driver narrowly qualify for Q2 on Friday, then place eighth on the grid and finish the sprint race outside the points. He tried to fight, describing sensations “not as good as Mandalika but still positive”while the grip of the track particularly favored him at the Indonesian GP.
In Japan, Bezzecchi rediscovered the tendency of his Ducati GP23 to push forward, particularly marked with a new tire, a fault which he knows he will probably not be able to get rid of before the end of the championship. He also suffered from the stop-and-go nature of the track, which exacerbated his braking difficulties.
Marco Bezzecchi
Photo de: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
“When you’re behind someone, it’s really very difficult to brake. In the sprint, it was a shock for me, because I didn’t expect to suffer so much. So today, I was a a little more prepared, but I still had a lot of trouble”, he said on Sunday.
“Luckily, the drivers I overtook, I was able to catch up and overtake them straight away; then I had a bit of a margin and I caught up and overtook immediately. That gave me the opportunity to continue to push, but if we cannot overtake immediately, and we stay behind [quelqu’un] for a few laps it’s difficult.”
The three entries in the top 5 obtained during the last three Grands Prix, to which was added a fourth place in the Indonesian sprint, still allowed him to gain three places in the championship, notably taking the advantage over his teammate, and that gives him comfort after a very complicated start to the season.
“I was pretty sure I could do it. Frankly, for me, I expected to do it sooner, and so I’m not totally satisfied. But I never gave up for a second “, assured Bezzecchi, reboosted by this breath of oxygen. “It’s good for everyone, me and the team, it’s good for everyone’s morale in general. And then, when I perform well but I know that maybe I could doing a little better, it makes me want to do well even more.”
Avec Luca Bartolomeo
