Marco Bezzecchi insists Marc Marquez remains the man to beat at Aragon, despite the reigning champion being outpaced for the first time since joining Ducati in 2024 during Friday afternoon's practice. Bezzecchi and Alex Marquez both edged ahead of Marquez on their final time attacks, but all three were covered by just 0.038s.
Marquez, quickest in FP1 and on top for most of Practice, opted not to do a second time attack with a new soft rear tyre. According to Bezzecchi, that was a sign Marquez was not showing his full hand. "I was happy," said the Italian. "It's true that Marc was, for sure, hiding a little bit, because he didn't even do the second time attack, and I'm sure tomorrow he will be the man to beat. But, at the moment, it's okay for me."
The Aprilia rider was referring to Marquez keeping the same set of tyres for both of his time attacks, rather than fitting another new soft rear for the final run. Nonetheless, it was a morale-boosting performance from Bezzecchi, the only non-Ducati rider in the top five and still struggling with the collarbone and especially knee injuries suffered at Sachsenring.
"I was feeling good with the bike. I started well this morning and in between the sessions, I was able to make a small step," he explained. "Physically, the pain never goes away, but I feel better compared to Silverstone. This part of the championship is going to be tough because the injury on the knee is quite long to recover from."
Bezzecchi, who starts this weekend 31 points behind team-mate and title leader Jorge Martin, added that the pain worsens the 'riding on ice' sensation felt by other Aprilia riders. "It's a tough situation because when you can't push too much on the footpeg, the sensation is even worse," he said. Meanwhile, when asked about the new rear aero on his RS-GP, Bezzecchi only said: "It's very beautiful!"
Martin was seventh quickest, one place behind Silverstone winner Raul Fernandez. This sets up an intriguing qualifying session, with the competition expected to be extremely tight.
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