Marco Bezzecchi kicked off the Austrian MotoGP 2026 with a heart-stopping moment that left fans on the edge of their seats. The Aprilia Racing rider narrowly avoided dropping into Q1 after a series of mistakes in the crucial Practice session. Despite eventually scraping through to Q2 in ninth, there was a tense period where he almost cost himself dearly.
It all began when Alex Marquez suffered a bizarre crash at Turn 1, triggering a red flag. When the session resumed, Bezzecchi opted to use the same tyre from his aborted time attack, a decision he admitted disrupted his rhythm in the closing minutes. "It was more my mistake, especially after the red flag; I wanted to try with the same tyre, but I made a mistake, so I lost a bit of rhythm," Bezzecchi confessed.
Fortunately, his Aprilia Racing crew were on the ball and helped him recover. Bezzecchi secured ninth place, the last automatic Q2 spot. He was relieved to hit the target. "I'm happy we reached Q2, that was the target, even if we risked a little bit," he added.
Interestingly, Bezzecchi's pace was not far off his teammate Jorge Martin, who finished fifth and just a tenth behind second place. However, the Italian felt he lost time in Sector 2. "Jorge and I are quite similar. I miss a little bit in Sector 2 compared to them," he explained. The internal battle at Aprilia Racing is heating up ahead of qualifying.
Meanwhile, Pedro Acosta was the fastest man on track and the clear reference in Austria. Bezzecchi knows the gap to Acosta is still significant. "Pedro has been super quick since the morning and maybe even more in the afternoon. We need to step up to get closer," he stressed. His goal is clear: close the gap to Pedro Acosta before the race.
Track conditions also posed a challenge. Bezzecchi complained about the difficulty of finding traction, especially in the centre of the tyre, both on acceleration and braking. "On this track it's very difficult to find traction, especially in the centre of the tyre. That's the hardest point while riding," he said. Nevertheless, he felt the special heat-resistant tyre Michelin brought to Austria was not a major issue, even with lower temperatures than last year.
With today's experience in the bank, Bezzecchi is determined to iron out mistakes and perform better in qualifying. He hopes to close the gap to Acosta and fight at the front. "Hopefully tomorrow we can make a step and be closer to him," he concluded. Catch more MotoGP Austria 2026 action only on Sportrik.
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