Marco Bezzecchi admitted overcoming “sad days” to secure his first MotoGP race victory for Aprilia at Silverstone.
The Italian chose to join the Noale-based squad for 2025 to work for a factory outfit, leaving VR46 Ducati in pursuit of greater support and resources.
His path to claiming victory was far from smooth, with sixth-place finishes in Thailand and Texas, but disappointing 14th-place results at Jerez and Le Mans underlined his early-season struggles.
After a difficult period of adapting to the RS-GP, Bezzecchi recorded his best weekend, finishing fourth in the Sprint before prevailing in the Grand Prix.
His path to claiming victory was far from smooth. Sixth-place finishes in Thailand and Texas showed promise, but disappointing 14th-place results at Jerez and Le Mans underlined his early-season struggles.
“Well, first of all, it was a difficult decision [to join], but I think it was the time for me to find some new challenges,” he revealed post-race.
“I wanted to be a factory rider really badly, so when Aprilia gave me the possibility, I decided to approach this new chapter.
“At the end, I didn’t reset my mentality or my targets. I just knew it was going to take some time and was going to take some work.
“I just tried to not give up, even if everything was looking sad because we passed some sad days.
“But at the end, working and working, we are able to find also some good results. So, this the result of the work.”
Marco Bezzecchi credits support network for overcoming internal battles
The 26-year-old explained that he suffered a lot with self-doubt this season after deciding to leave VR46 Ducati.
He credited his support network that helped him ease his internal doubts, mentioning key people affiliated with the VR46 Academy and Valentino Rossi himself.
“Let’s say that in sports I’m sure that also these guys behind me know that when you are tough times there are many, many people doubting you,” he added.
“The maximum you can do is try to keep yourself close to the people that know what you are capable of.
“You try to not do it, but sometimes you also doubt yourself when nothing is going well.
“So, it wasn’t easy, but fortunately I have so many good people around me, starting with my team but also all the [VR46] Academy, Valentino [Rossi], but all the staff from the Academy is amazing.
“But also my close friends; I’m a normal 26-year-old guy, with my friends I can speak about everything. The real friends are something special, so thanks to them.”
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