BEZZECCHI TAKES THIRD IN RED BULL RING SPRINT AFTER LATE TURN OF EVENTS

Marco Bezzecchi’s Friday at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg was a mixed bag, with only a narrow margin helping him reach Q2 and then a Saturday practice that didn’t go smoothly, ending with 15th in the second free session. Despite that uneven build-up, the Aprilia rider managed to turn his weekend around in the sprint, finishing third and securing a fourth-place grid slot for the race after improving in qualifying.

Bezzecchi’s sprint result came with a touch of fortune near the end. He explained that he “wasn’t as quick as the top guys,” adding that “through Pedro’s mistake I ultimately had luck, but I was in the right place at the right time.” The podium was made possible when Pedro Acosta crashed shortly before the sprint’s conclusion, allowing Bezzecchi to benefit from the timing. Speedweek also noted that, with a start position of 4, he had set himself up to recover from the “painful” crash defeat at his home San Marino GP, and that the first phase of the sprint went well for him. While Acosta’s error helped, Bezzecchi’s ride was still described as clean enough to deliver third.

In the race, Bezzecchi had to fight through the pressure of Jorge Martin, who was charging back from behind. Bezzecchi ultimately lost that duel for the lead, but he kept pushing to close the gap to the Ducati spearhead ahead—Marc Marquez—only for his momentum to fade after a riding error.

After the flag, Bezzecchi said it “was absolutely no easy weekend,” explaining that it “took until this morning” to get the right feeling, and that in warm-up he was able to adapt himself better to the bike. He also described the opening stages of the race: despite a strong start, he had issues with the front, and Acosta moved past him. As the distance grew, though, his speed improved, and he said he was able to “get back to Jorge” and “made a pretty good job” in the end. Speedweek added that he was even close to second late on: with three laps to go, the gap was fully closed, and he nearly caught the team-mate at the braking into Turn 1.

Reflecting on the effort, Bezzecchi said: “The race was tough, but I didn’t give up and tried to stay with them.” He also looked back on the earlier setback in Misano, where he crashed in the first lap of his home Grand Prix, calling it “important to get a good result.” With Sunday still to come, he added that he would “try to improve further.” Speedweek further quoted him stressing the value of the result: “It was so important, this result – also for the whole team,” adding that the Aprilia squad had “worked extremely hard” and he hoped they could carry it into the next races.

In the championship after the weekend’s opening day, Bezzecchi remained third with 248 points, 38 behind Jorge Martin, while Fabio Di Giannantonio held fourth on 223.