After finishing third in Saturday’s MotoGP Sprint, Marco Bezzecchi bounced back and stormed to claim a flag-to-flag race win in Portimao.
His second Grand Prix win of the season solidified his third-place position in the championship, making him the leading non-Ducati rider behind Marc and Alex Márquez.
To highlight the dominance, the Italian claimed victory by a dominant 2.5s, but the gap at one point pushed the 4s.
Aprilia achieved a new milestone this year, winning three MotoGP races across one season — two with Bezzecchi and one with Trackhouse’s Raul Fernandez at Phillip Island.
The Italian admitted that Aprilia has made impressive strides with its machinery, but is still not at the level of Ducati’s Marc Márquez.
“So afterwards, we sat down with the team to understand what we could do better overall,” reflected Bezzecchi to Speedweek.
“And during the warm-up, it was confirmed that we had found something that could compensate for my weaknesses.
“I had confidence in the project from day one, and we’ve seen a significant improvement after a less than ideal start to the season – but overall, I don’t think we’re yet at Marc Marquez’s level.
“We still need more – but we’re on the right track, step by step.”
Massimo Rivola hails the ‘always improving’ Marco Bezzecchi
After Aprilia wrapped up second place in the manufacturers’ standings, Massimo Rivola praised Bezzecchi for his attitude and commitment to the project.
In their first season together, the Rimini rider and Aprilia have enjoyed a successful partnership, collecting two wins, eight Grand Prix podiums, and three Sprint race victories.
“Marco is simply doing the best he can,” Rivola shared to GPOne.
“The work he is doing perfect, we could say, in many respects. He is not only consistently fast: from Friday to Sunday, he’s always improving.
“Sometimes we aren’t ready on Friday, simply because the bike is very different, and sometimes the simulations we don’t consider how much the bike has changed from the past.
“The fact is that when we arrive a little late on Friday, we struggle, because if you don’t get into Q2, the race weekend almost always changes.
“Marco is a rider who works very hard. He is very good at explaining what he needs on the bike, and with the team there is a very good understanding of how to listen, how to explain, and how to find the right balance —not only between the rider’s feelings and the data, but also between feeling and technique.
“Engineers usually look at the data, but it’s also important to understand the rider’s feelings.”
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