BEZZECCHI SEES PROMISING SEPANG PACE DESPITE SIXTH PLACE

Marco Bezzecchi left Friday practice at Sepang encouraged, despite ending the day sixth and more than four tenths behind Marc Marquez’s fastest time. The Aprilia rider, a five-time winner this season, said the result compared favourably with his difficult Malaysian weekend last year, when he finished 11th.

“Compared to last year, it was a fantastic Friday,” Bezzecchi told Sky Sport Italy. He felt his race pace was competitive, though he was less satisfied with his single-lap speed. “I wasn’t perfect in terms of riding; I made a few too many mistakes,” he said.

Bezzecchi identified the Marquez brothers as quicker than him, while also warning that Fabio Di Giannantonio and Pedro Acosta could be strong over the weekend. “The Marquez brothers are faster than me, Diggia and Acosta are also fast,” he said. Despite the challenge, he was pleased with his effort: “I pulled like a beast all the laps to get myself in place as much as possible. I’m excited.”

Aprilia’s weekend has also been complicated by injuries. Team-mate Jorge Martin arrived with a fractured wrist sustained in his Phillip Island crash the previous week, then spent much of Friday’s practice out of action after a front-end scare at Turn 13. The team is also without Raul Fernandez, who withdrew after breaking a finger in Mandalika three weeks earlier, leaving Aprilia with three riders at Sepang.