Marco Bezzecchi found himself a second slower in the Japanese Grand Prix sprint than he expected, despite using the same medium rear tyre that had delivered strong practice times. The Aprilia rider was one of only two on the grid to choose Michelin’s medium compound for the half-distance race at Motegi on Saturday, alongside Pramac Yamaha’s Jack Miller.
Bezzecchi’s decision to run the medium tyre was intended to help him survive the opening laps without losing grip or overheating. However, the plan did not pay off. Even as three rivals were taken out in a crash sparked by Alex Marquez at the start, Bezzecchi slipped backwards through the race and finished sixth, well behind the winners. Ducati’s Marc Marquez took the sprint victory, while Jorge Martin, despite late issues on the soft rear tyre, claimed third. Bezzecchi’s result saw him lose ground in the championship battle.
“On paper, for myself, it was the right choice,” Bezzecchi said after the race. “Then obviously with the result, it's not the right choice. But on paper, it was good because, in the end, I could do it. I had to survive the first two and a half laps. But after that, I was super confident. So, it was a decision that was not taken because I was slow and I said, ‘OK, let's risk for the medium, maybe I can make it better’. We thought about it and it was not bad. But at the end it's like this, so let's move on.”
His pace in the sprint did not match his practice form. In FP2 on Saturday morning, Bezzecchi set multiple laps in the 1m43s range on the medium tyre. His final flying lap of 1m43.321, done on a 16-lap-old rear, topped the session ahead of teammate Jorge Martin and KTM’s Pedro Acosta. But during the 12 laps of the sprint, Bezzecchi broke the 1m44s barrier only once. His best sprint lap of 1m43.873 was half a second slower than his best time in FP2, while Martin managed to stay within a tenth of his earlier pace.
“Yesterday, I saw that my pace was good, but not as I wanted,” Bezzecchi explained. “I was also a little bit on the limit with the temperature from the rear tyre already yesterday. So we decided to try to work on the medium this morning, to see if I could have at least the two options. And with the medium this morning I was feeling good, I was riding quite fast. So, because of this pace and because of the less risk with the temperature, I tried to make this decision. But at the end, today I was riding a bit too slow, one second too slow.”
When asked for an explanation of the discrepancy between his practice and sprint performances, Bezzecchi said he had no clear answer. “I cannot explain it. I don't want to say anything wrong too early. So I prefer to check everything.”
The choice to run medium tyres was a strategic gamble. While the medium compound was expected to offer more consistent performance over the short sprint distance, the soft tyre appeared to provide better outright pace for others, including Jorge Martin, who managed a podium spot despite tyre troubles later in the race. Michelin had banned the soft compound for the main Grand Prix due to tyre safety concerns, but it remained available for the sprint.
Bezzecchi’s struggle at Motegi adds pressure on Aprilia in the championship. The Italian rider and his teammate Martin both face a tough challenge to keep pace with Ducati’s frontrunners. After Saturday’s sprint, Bezzecchi acknowledged the need to reassess their tyre choices moving forward.
The Japanese GP main race will see Michelin’s medium compound banned, forcing teams to adapt once again. Meanwhile, Bezzecchi and Aprilia will be reviewing data to understand why the medium tyre failed to deliver the expected pace in race conditions.
According to Yahoo Sports.
