Marco Bezzecchi, rider of the Aprilia team, managed to finish on the podium of the sprint race of the British Grand Prix despite feeling exhausted and, as he himself commented, “destroyed” after the Saturday session.
After recovering from a shoulder injury, Bezzecchi had set the best time in the Friday practice session. However, on Saturday, he faced a real test for his physical condition during qualifying and the sprint race, which demanded considerable effort.
With a new circuit record achieved in qualifying, Bezzecchi had to give his all, clocking a time of 1m56.183s that secured him a spot on the second row.
The sprint race consisted of 10 consecutive laps, double what he had completed in FP2, which intensified the physical demands. Despite a slow start, the Italian rider managed to overtake Marc Márquez on the fifth lap and shortly after, Fabio di Giannantonio, thus achieving a valuable third place.
This result represents Bezzecchi’s first sprint podium since his performance in Hungary in June, as well as the first time Aprilia achieves a podium lockout in a sprint race.
Reflecting on his performance, Bezzecchi acknowledged that he expected a less positive result. “I felt super tired, and it was hard to concentrate in the last laps,” he said. “After qualifying, I felt wrecked, the energy I had to expend was enormous.”
The rider underwent surgery just a month ago, and still struggles with weakness on the left side of his body. Additionally, he has to cope with significant knee pain and restricted mobility, complicating his performance.
On Tuesday, Bezzecchi will face a new challenge with the 20-lap race on Sunday. He hopes that the medium tire he will use will provide him with more durability compared to the soft tire used by other riders in the sprint race.
Despite low expectations, Bezzecchi is ambitious about his ability to maintain speed during the race. “It will be difficult to replicate the result of the sprint race. If I wake up tomorrow feeling like I do today, that will already be a good result,” he added, remaining optimistic about his performance.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
SourceID: SRC_80616e9999cdeb14ecff3f7f215e9c5598de4e06