MotoGP, Austria Day 3, Debriefing Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia/3): "I would have liked to make 20 more overtakes!", etc. (Full)

This press conference of the Grand Prix from Austria MotoGP 2025 gathered at the Red Bull Ring Marc Marquez, Fermin Aldeguer et Marco Bezzecchi for their debriefing, after the Italian driver was unable to maintain his pole position advantage.

Marco Bezzecchi nevertheless finished troisième, thus signing his fourth podium since joining Aprilia this year, after his victory at Silverstone and his two second places at Assen and Brno. For Aprilia, this result also represents a historic moment: thanks to Bezzecchi's third place, the brand has secured his first ever MotoGP podium at the Red Bull Ring.
Firmly installed 4th in the championship, he is now at 43 points behind Francesco Bagnaia, and 34 points ahead of the Morbidelli-Di Giannantonio-Acosta trio.

As usual, we report here in full the words of the latter, without the slightest formatting, even if it is translated from English.

🎤 OK, ladies and gentlemen, a warm welcome to the post-race press conference here at the end of our thousandth premier-class Grand Prix at the BWIN Austrian Grand Prix here at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg. Congratulations to our top three drivers.
Sixth successive double victory now in 6 for Ducati Lenovo Team rider Marc Márquez, and we can finally say that Marc is a Grand Prix winner here in Spielberg after so many near misses in the past. Great weekend, great job Marc. A second place for BK2025 Gresini Racing rider Fermín Aldeguer, a career best MotoGP result for Fermín, and he was the fans' Rider of the Race after a fantastic second half of the Grand Prix. And to complete today's podium, a great weekend after a tough Friday for Aprilia Racing's Marco Bezzecchi. Aprilia's first pole position of the season yesterday and Aprilia's first Grand Prix podium today here at the Red Bull Ring in Austria. Gentlemen, well done to all three of you!

(I.e. Rounding out the podium today from pole position was Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing). Marco, after a complicated Friday where you finished 18th in the standings, managing to take pole position and then climb onto the podium here, at a circuit where Aprilia has historically struggled, must have been a very positive weekend for you and the team?
Marco Bezzecchi: “Yes, as you said, recovering from a bad Friday wasn't easy, but we managed to stay calm and worked really well every night in the pits. Luckily, we were able to make some important steps and in qualifying it was great to get back on pole. It's been a long, long time, I don't even remember my last pole! So yeah, it was good.”

🎤 Just a quick clarification: it was in India 2023, for the record. You led early in the race. We've seen you battle with Marc a lot in recent weeks, at the Sachsenring, Assen, and most recently at Brno. Tell us how the race evolved for you, and this last duel with Fermin, who had incredible pace in the closing laps.
Marco Bezzecchi: “Yes, it was a great race, I had a lot of fun. I have to say that fighting with these guys is always great. Unfortunately, in the middle of the race I had a little problem with the bike and I had to slow down a bit. At that point, I was already far behind Marc. I knew he was managing, but I was managing a lot too. Then at one point, he caught me immediately and as soon as I heard him behind me, I knew he was going to overtake me. I tried to resist braking, but it wasn't enough. When he passed me, I tried to fight back and we had a great fight. Unfortunately not very long, I would have liked to have done 20 more overtaking attempts! But that's how it ended. Then, as soon as Marc passed me, I looked at my panel and saw 1.7 with Fermin, and the next lap 0.9... Then I said to myself: “OK, sure, I'll do 3rd.” And there you have it.

🎤 Marco, we just mentioned: this was Aprilia's first-ever Grand Prix podium here at the Red Bull Ring. This stop-and-go layout has never really suited the RS-GP. How confident does that give you? Because we've already seen the bike perform very well on fast and flowing circuits like Assen and Brno, but now also on a much tighter and more demanding track like Austria.
Marco Bezzecchi: “Well, when we arrived here, the whole factory, especially Massimo, told me not to expect much, because it was a circuit where they had always suffered a lot, and it was true. But fortunately, we worked well and in the end we were able to adjust everything a little. As you could see, it wasn't enough to really be at the top, especially in the very last part of the race where the others had a little something extra. But at least we can fight and enjoy the races at the front. We will continue to work to stay on this path, or even do even better.”

🎤 This is Aprilia's first podium at this track. We know the RS-GP is usually faster at tracks like Barcelona or Silverstone. When you arrive here and Massimo says: "don't expect too much", does this mean that you have to work harder to achieve this level of performance?
Marco Bezzecchi: “That’s a difficult question… can you repeat it? I didn’t quite understand, sorry.”

🎤 We know that the Aprilia performs well on circuits like Silverstone or Barcelona. Here, as Massimo told you, it was a difficult track for you. In FP1, you were well placed, but the afternoon was complicated. Does this mean you have to work harder to reach the level you showed today?
Marco Bezzecchi: “Ultimately, you have to know how to adapt to each situation and see how to react. When everything is going well, we work in the same way, but perhaps there are a few fewer problems to solve. This doesn't mean that we work less, but rather that the work is different. When you encounter a lot of difficulties, it's true that you have to solve a lot more things, so you work more carefully on the problems. I don't want to say that I worked more or less here, I simply had more worries to solve. When there are fewer problems, you naturally have fewer things to solve.”

🎤 You mentioned having a problem with the bike during the race. Can you tell us a little more about it?
Marco Bezzecchi: “No, I can’t (laughs).”

🎤 Marco, can you confirm if your riding style is different today than before on the Ducati? In particular, we notice in the photos that your upper body is more angled.
Marco Bezzecchi: “Yes, my style is a little different. Of course, I had to work a lot to adapt to another bike. It's normal: when you change machines, you're used to doing certain things, but they don't necessarily work the same way as on the bike you rode before. So yes, I had to adapt a little, and also change my position on the bike with my body.”