Bezzecchi ‘Destroyed’ After Sprint Podium, GP Race in Doubt

Marco Bezzecchi admitted he surprised even himself by finishing third in the British Grand Prix sprint on Saturday, but behind his first sprint podium since Hungary, the Aprilia rider felt exhausted and “destroyed” physically.

The Italian had topped Friday practice after recovering from injuries sustained at the Sachsenring. But Saturday was always going to be the real test of his fitness as qualifying shattered the lap record. Bezzecchi pushed to the limit to post a 1m56.183s and secure a spot on the second row of the grid.

That strain was already significant, but he then had to complete 10 laps in the sprint, twice as many as he managed in a single run in FP2. Battling pain and a strange sensation in his foot, Bezzecchi recovered from a slow start to repass Marc Marquez’s Ducati on lap 5 before overtaking Fabio di Giannantonio for third.

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The result marked his first sprint podium since Hungary at the beginning of June and helped Aprilia secure its first-ever top-three lockout in a Saturday race. However, Bezzecchi admitted he felt “super, super tired” and struggled in the final four laps.

“Maybe more than a little bit. I felt super, super tired. I started to struggle a lot. Four laps to the end, I really felt a drop in my physical performance. It was tough. I didn't expect it at all because this morning when I woke up, I felt much worse than yesterday. After qualifying, I felt destroyed. Qualifying really destroyed me. To make that lap, I really had to put on a kind of effort that was always tough. So, I was pretty worried before the sprint, apart from the adrenaline that I had in the first couple of laps. After that, the pain and the tiredness were a lot,” he said.

Bezzecchi underwent an operation on his broken shoulder just a month ago and still lacks shoulder strength, while also struggling with severe pain and limited mobility in his knee. He feels pain on the left side, overall, because he doesn't have enough power in the upper body on the left. His left leg was barely trained, so when bending the knees, the pain is a lot.

Sunday’s race will run 20 laps, posing an even bigger challenge for the former championship leader. His only saving grace could be the medium rear tyre, expected to be more durable than the soft compound used by most in the sprint. But Bezzecchi admitted it would be tough to maintain his speed and played down his chances of another podium at Silverstone.

“I hope. Obviously, I hope, but honestly I don't think so. It will be hard to wake up feeling like today. It can already be a good result if I wake up tomorrow and I feel similar to now. That is pretty bad, but at least the same. But tomorrow with a longer distance, hopefully Jorge will start slower. If the pace can be a little bit slow, I can manage for a couple of laps more. Then I will try to survive,” he added.