Aprilia Racing place fifth in Valencia sprint
MARCO BEZZECCHI FINISHES FIFTH, SECURING THIRD PLACE IN THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP, JORGE MARTÍN TWENTY-SECOND
The sprint at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit ended with a strong result for Aprilia Racing. Marco Bezzecchi clinched third place in the riders’ championship.
In Q2, Bezzecchi delivered an outstanding performance, taking pole position in 1:28.809. This was a new all-time lap record, beating the previous benchmark set by Aprilia in 2023. It was the Italian rider’s fifth pole of the season and his second in a row. He added to those secured in Austria, Misano, Mandalika, and Portimão.
In the sprint, Bezzecchi encountered some difficulty in the opening corners and dropped several positions. The Italian rider finished the sprint in fifth place. He secured third in the championship with one race remaining in his debut season with Aprilia Racing.
Starting from seventeenth on the grid, Jorge Martín made a good getaway. He moved up to eleventh by the end of the first lap. However, he ran wide on lap four and dropped to the back of the pack, despite continuing to set competitive times. The Spanish rider finished the sprint in twenty-second place.
Raúl Fernández also delivered an excellent performance on Saturday. The Trackhouse MotoGP Team rider earned fourth place on the grid. He progressed from Q1 to Q2 and finished the sprint in fourth after battling for the final podium spot throughout the race.
MARCO BEZZECCHI
I’m not entirely satisfied with the sprint because I was hoping to accomplish more, but overall it was a good day. Unfortunately, on the opening lap, the fork didn’t release, and coming out of the first corners, I couldn’t accelerate as I wanted, so I lost several positions straight away. From then on, the sprint became difficult.
JORGE MARTÍN
It was a good sprint. I got off the line very well and was immediately up to eleventh. At turn 8, I ran straight on and found myself at the back of the group. From that moment, I focused on finding my rhythm: I tried different maps and adjusted some aspects of my riding style to work out how to close the gap to the riders ahead. I maintained a steady pace, and I’m happy about that. We made a big step forward. I’m getting my confidence back, but I also need to be aware of my physical condition and take things steadily on that front.
FABIANO STERLACCHINI
It was a positive day, although a bit of a mixed bag, because starting from pole, this result doesn’t fully reflect our potential. We had a minor issue at the start that affected Marco’s initial getaway. We are investigating the cause, but we are confident everything will be fine for tomorrow. We’re sorry if this problem influenced the sprint’s outcome. It was great to see Jorge back on track: he has already shown flashes of his great talent, and now it’s just a matter of getting the miles under his belt. We hope he can have a good race tomorrow, something that will help him regain confidence and rhythm.