Sylvain Guintoli shares where Marco Bezzecchi was ‘really good’ in his battle with Marc Marquez at Misano

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Marc Marquez pipped Marco Bezzecchi to the win at the 2025 San Marino Grand Prix after a gripping battle.

The Spaniard’s tactical approach worked well, as he patiently waited for a chance to get past his rival before withstanding some pressure for the rest of the race. A Bezzecchi mistake opened the door for Marquez, and he didn’t look back after taking advantage of it.

It’s another tick against Aprilia, who are starting to prove that they have a chance of being serious contenders in 2026. The positive momentum they are building might have Ducati slightly worried, and puts a bit of pressure on them to develop their bike even further.

The result means that Marquez inches closer to the title and can now secure his seventh triumph at the next race at Motegi by outscoring his brother Alex by three points. Jorge Lorenzo still spots a ‘critical’ Marquez weakness after his crash in Saturday’s sprint, but it won’t matter to him now he has another win.

READ MORE: Cameras capture how Valentino Rossi reacted to Marc Marquez’s crash at the San Marino Grand Prix

Sylvain Guintoli thinks Marco Bezzecchi was ‘really good’ at defending from Marc Marquez at Misano

After Bezzecchi suffered two crashes at the Catalan Grand Prix, he couldn’t have bounced back in much stronger fashion one week later.

He’s closing in on Francesco Bagnaia for third place in the riders’ standings, but he might have his eyes set on stealing some victories from his teammate for the rest of the season.

Speaking after the San Marino Grand Prix, Sylvain Guintoli pointed out exactly what Bezzecchi was ‘really good’ at doing against Marquez.

“Bezzecchi gets the start again, he gets the holeshot, so the Aprilia starting well off the line, and Bezzecchi pushing very, very hard,” he said on TNT Sports.

“You can see there the wobble of the front tyre there, he’s pushing so hard in those first laps. It was sort of like parking the bikes a little bit, going early into the corners to stop Marc from attacking him while they were still activating the tyres, putting them in pressure.

“So, Bezzecchi was really, really good on those opening laps to hold this first position and get his tyres in temperature, while blocking Marc from overtaking him.”

READ MORE: Marco Bezzecchi in awe of the ‘amazing’ thing he’s seen Jorge Martin do behind the scenes at Aprilia

When can Marco Bezzecchi catch and pass Francesco Bagnaia in the MotoGP standings?

With six races to go, Bezzecchi has plenty of time to catch and pass Bagnaia in the standings, which would help him match his best finish in MotoGP.

With four podiums in his last five races, he’s the second most in-form rider behind Marquez, and has proven that his move to Aprilia was a good gamble.

Leaving a Ducati satellite operation at VR46 was always going to be a risk, but now he’s possibly the biggest contender for the title in 2026.

Aprilia have to keep developing their bike, but there’s a chance that they head into next season with the rider line-up best positioned to challenge for both titles.