BEZZECCHI ADMITS STILL STRUGGLING WITH “DISASTER” INJURY AFTER SILVERSTONE LAP RECORD

Marco Bezzecchi admitted that his Friday pace at Silverstone came with a heavy physical cost, after he set the fastest lap in practice and broke the circuit record at the British Grand Prix. The factory Aprilia rider had arrived at the weekend with his title hopes already dented by injuries sustained in a crash during Sachsenring practice last month, where he damaged his collarbone and knee.

Bezzecchi’s return to form was immediate: he topped the session and produced a lap time that put him at the front of the field, finishing 0.3s clear of Trackhouse Aprilia rider Raul Fernandez. He was also ahead of the leading Ducati of Fabio di Giannantonio by 0.4s, and half a second up on championship leader Jorge Martin, who was his closest rival within the Aprilia camp.

Still, the Italian was clear that the lap record did not reflect a fully recovered body. “The day was fantastic. Obviously, I’m very happy to make a good lap time. But let's say the balance of the day is a little bit different than this,” Bezzecchi said. He explained that while he could find speed, his ability to sustain it over multiple laps was limited. “Because in terms of pace, I'm struggling a bit more. When I have to put four, five laps in a row I suffer and at the end of the session I was super tired.”

Bezzecchi described the injuries as “complicated,” detailing how both the shoulder and knee required more than straightforward treatment. On the shoulder side, he said the collarbone fracture was severe and that the surgery was difficult. “The injuries were both tough. The shoulder was a collarbone, it's true, but the fracture was very bad. So also the surgery was complicated.”

The knee, he added, has been the bigger day-to-day problem. “The knee was a wound. Very deep. So in Germany they closed it to allow me to fly, but I had to reopen it. And when they reopened it, they saw that I also ‘scratched’ my bone. So the surgery also in the knee was complicated.”

Although the collarbone drew attention, Bezzecchi said it was the knee that has been “making me crazy.” He pointed to limitations in movement and the demands of Silverstone’s layout. “The knee looks like a smaller injury, but at the end it's what is making me crazy. The days at home were a disaster. So I'm forcing a bit, especially in the change of direction. I can't bend all the leg, so I'm struggling. And in this track there are many changes of direction!”

He also described ongoing pain and the extent of the damage inside the joint area. “The pain is still there, because at the end it's like a fracture. I'm missing a small piece of the bone. But also it's very [swollen], it's full of liquid.”

Even with those issues, Bezzecchi framed the top time as a morale boost rather than a sign that everything was back to normal. “To be fast always helps. It was a good satisfaction to make this lap time, even if it's Friday and means nothing,” he said. “At least for one day I have the track record. Hopefully it will last for tomorrow. But it's for sure much better to go fast instead of going slow. As I said, tomorrow will be for sure super tough, but we will think about it tomorrow!”

With the British GP weekend continuing, Bezzecchi will start Saturday’s Sprint third in the world championship, 22 points behind Martin. Despite the difficult run of form before the summer break—he had scored just 13 points across the four rounds leading in—his Silverstone performance underlined both his speed and the challenge of managing his injuries as the weekend progresses.