During the Austrian MotoGP on Friday, Marco Bezzecchi narrowly secured his spot in Q2, finishing ninth overall. The Italian rider was only the third-fastest among the Aprilia team in the practice sessions and made several errors during his final timed runs, which determine the top 10 riders who automatically advance to Q2 without needing to compete in Q1 on Saturday.
These critical time attempts mostly took place after a red flag interruption caused by an unusual crash involving Alex Marquez at the exit of turn one. Bezzecchi opted to reuse the same tire from his earlier, now voided time attack once the session resumed, a decision he acknowledges disrupted his rhythm during the closing moments.
Overall, Bezzecchi described the day as positive, despite some mistakes during the time attack. He expressed satisfaction with reaching Q2, which was his key goal, though he admitted that the choice to stick with the previous tire after the red flag was a misstep affecting his momentum. Luckily, his team’s timely support helped him manage the last part of the session effectively.
Even though Bezzecchi placed ninth, he believes his pace is quite close to his Aprilia teammate Jorge Martin, who ended the day fifth and narrowly missed second place by just a tenth of a second. His primary aim remains to narrow the gap to Pedro Acosta, the clear frontrunner in Austria after day one.
Bezzecchi mentioned, “If qualifying were today, ninth isn’t ideal; Pedro has been incredibly fast since the morning, getting even quicker later in the day. Jorge and I are quite on par, but I lose a bit in sector two compared to them. The track is very technical, except for Pedro, so hopefully tomorrow we can make progress and get closer to him.”
Other KTM riders showed strong performance too, with Brad Binder finishing eighth, just ahead of Bezzecchi. Binder credits his improved speed partly to the special heat-resistant tire Michelin supplies for Austria, which is tougher than the standard version.
Bezzecchi said he felt comfortable with the tires despite much cooler temperatures than last year’s event, though he noted the extreme difficulty in finding rear-wheel traction during both acceleration and braking.
“In terms of tire feel, it’s quite similar to last year, just a bit colder,” Bezzecchi explained. “This track is tough for traction, especially at the tire’s center, which is the hardest part as you ride. Braking on straight sections is also challenging. But overall, the feeling hasn’t been bad—we still need to improve, but it wasn’t a bad start.”
Fan Take:
This update on Bezzecchi’s progress highlights the fine margins and tough decisions riders face during intense qualifying sessions. For racing fans, it shows how even minor errors can impact a rider’s starting position, which could influence the dynamics of the race and championship outcomes.
Source: www.crash.net
