After an extremely solid start to the season, where he dominated the Championship MotoGP on Sunday, despite a few mistakes in the sprint races, Marco Bezzecchi experienced a completely different scenario in the last four Grands Prix that took place before the summer break.
As we know, he was hit by Jorge Martín in Hungary, crashed on Saturday in the Czech Republic, and was then suspended on Sunday for slapping a race official. Back in the Netherlands, he crashed again on Sunday and was taken to the hospital for further tests, which revealed nothing. He then arrived in Germany not at 100% fitness and crashed heavily once more, this time during qualifying.
Having suffered a fractured left clavicle, he did not participate in the remainder of the Grand Prix, thus recording six DNFs in eight races. The summer break therefore came at just the right time. so that he can recover but also to refocus.
The Italian driver has gone through a rough patch, but can still turn things around when the championship resumes next week at Silverstone. If there's one person, at least, who defends him and refuses to talk about "cracking under pressure," it's Francis BagnaiaVery good friends with Marco BezzecchiThe Ducati rider was keen to point out that these moments could easily happen, and that it in no way diminishes his ability to compete for the title this season.
"Journalists love the expression 'under pressure'", he declared with a smile. “I’ve experienced different situations, like during the last race in Valencia in 2022, where I was fighting for the title and finished eighth. People said I felt the pressure, but I was fighting for the title in the previous race and I won it. It all depends on how a rider manages the situation. I think Marco has been very unlucky in these last few races, because he was hit at Balaton.”
“This year, he’s struggled a bit in sprint races, but I can’t really say anything because I was in the same situation. You have to understand and learn. It’s his first time competing for the championship, in my opinion he has enormous potential, and some tracks are more or less favorable. [The Sachsenring] is certainly not one of his circuits; Assen used to be, but he was unlucky. Talking about pressure is very subjective, and in my opinion, that’s not the case right now.”