Marco Bezzecchi
Marco Bezzecchi’s evolving rivalry with Jorge Martin shows how big an influence bikes have over ride performance, Marc Marquez says.
Martin leads the championship as the summer break begins, 22 points ahead of his teammate. However, Bezzecchi hasn’t started two of the last three Grands Prix, and he retired from the intervening race at Assen.
In the six races where both riders have been classified, Bezzecchi has been ahead five times. And in qualifying, the Italian leads the head-to-head 8-3.
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Bezzecchi and Martin used to race Ducati satellite bikes, and back then the Spaniard was well ahead. Between 2022 and 2024, he scored almost double the points (1,088 vs 593).
This was partly down to riding a more advanced spec, with Bezzecchi on year-old machinery. But that in itself underlines Martin’s superior position in the brand’s hierarchy.
“When they were in Ducati, Martin was much faster than Bezzecchi,” Marquez told MC News in a recent interview.
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“Then when they jumped to Aprilia, now he is leading Martin. In the lap times, Bezzecchi was even faster than Martin. So, is Bezzecchi better than Martin? Is Martin better than Bezzecchi? It depends on the riding style.
“It is true that the bikes we have now are easier to arrive at the limit with. So you reach one limit, and sometimes in qualifying practice, if you want to ride over that limit, you are even slower. You need to ride at the bike’s limit, not faster.
“It is like a Formula 1 car. You need to be fast and precise, but if you are too aggressive and you slide, you are missing performance. So that is something you need to understand well.”
It’s worth noting that Martin’s first campaign at Aprilia was significantly disrupted by injury. He missed virtually all of testing and only took part in 15 of the 44 races (including Sprints).
That put him at a significant mileage deficit compared to Bezzecchi, who took a full part in the season and was naturally the leading voice for bike development.
In a sense, he became the team leader, which may be why the bike seems to suit him more. With Martin fully fit again, Massimo Rivola is now adamant that his two riders are equals, despite the #89’s impending move to Yamaha.
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