Marco Bezzecchi with conflicting feelings: Indonesian GP feels ‘more like a loss than a win’

Marco Bezzecchi admitted that the Indonesian Grand Prix weekend felt ‘more like a loss than a win’, even after bouncing from a sprint crash to dominate Sunday’s race.

Bezzecchi claimed his first victory in MotoGP since the Italian Grand Prix back in May, leading a historic 1-2-3-4 finish for Aprilia at one of the marque’s strongest tracks on the calendar.

But the result came in the wake of a disastrous sprint for Aprilia, with Bezzecchi and Raul Fernandez clattering into each other on the opening lap and Jorge Martin losing the victory - and the championship lead - due to tyre pressure issues and a late error.

Matters were compounded by Fernandez breaking his finger and openly criticising Bezzecchi’s actions in the media, prompting Aprilia to sit down both its riders before the race.

Bezzecchi stressed that he had no intention of giving up after Saturday’s disaster, despite the crash leaving him a mammoth 59-point adrift in the title fight.

But while he successfully came back from the incident to win on Sunday, he also admitted that the weekend dealt him and Aprilia significant damage.

“I came here this weekend knowing that I could be fast and knowing that if I worked well, there was a possibility to gain some points. And yesterday, I fell,” he said.

“A race incident can happen. What can you do? You're going to cry and don't start today? Or you're going to try your best and make it the best that you can?

“In the end, it is what I did. I was convinced that [this result was possible] from the job we did this weekend. So, this for sure helped.

“As Massimo [Rivola] said, it's more a loss than a victory. But at the end, we are still a little bit there.”

Marco Bezzecchi, Aprilia Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / Getty Images

Bezzecchi recouped some of the lost points with a fine victory on Sunday, with team-mate Martin finishing a distant third and sprint winner Marc Marquez only managing sixth place aboard the factory Ducati.

However, he still faces a substantial 46-point deficit to Martin with just five rounds remaining in the season - and with question marks over whether the Qatar GP would be cancelled amid the war in West Asia.

The Italian said he will not give up on his title chances until he is still in mathematical contention, insisting he had already started taking risks to close the gap to the front.

“Before this round, I knew that maybe I had to risk a little bit more here,” he said.

“Yesterday, of course, that didn't pay off, with the race incident at the beginning. But fortunately, today, the race was good.

“I'm still far, but my mentality is still the same. I will keep fighting, keep trying my best to achieve the best that I can till the end. So let's continue like this.”

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