Marco Bezzecchi claimed a much-needed win in Mandalika, but even that was not enough to meet his camp’s expectations.
The Italian won his first Grand Prix since Mugello as he beat Raul Fernandez to claim the victory in Indonesia. Bezzecchi headed up an Aprilia 1-2-3-4, with teammate Jorge Martin P3 and Ai Ogura P4.
It was a strong showing from the No.72 rider and a much-needed confidence boost. Since his win at the Italian GP, he had not finished higher than third and failed to score in five of the last nine races before Mandalika.
Marco Bezzecchi’s camp said they would have a ‘tinge of regret’ if they did not score 37 points in Indonesia
While Bezzecchi did score 25 points on Sunday, it was not enough to meet the expectations set by insiders within his garage. Commentator Matt Birt spoke with his camp at the Indonesian Grand Prix, and they were expecting the maximum 37 points.
He said on MotoGP’s official coverage of Free Practice on Friday: “49 points, Bez sits behind his factory Aprilia teammate Jorge Martin coming into this round 17 of this year’s world championship.
“He’s got plenty of points still on the table to fight for. 222 points are still available in 2026, but just catching up with some insiders on the Bez side of that Aprilia garage here this weekend, and there’s a sense that this is almost like a must-win weekend.
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“Given how strong he was, how dominant he was here last year, you just get the impression, talking to some of the Bezzecchi camp here in Mandalika, that if he doesn’t clean up with the full maximum 37 points, they’ll almost be leaving with a tinge of disappointment, a tinge of regret.”
Bezzecchi did the business on Sunday, but his chances of maximum points in Mandalika were dashed at the first corner of the first lap in the Sprint.
Qualifying P2, Bezzecchi collided with Fernandez as he lunged into turn one alongside Marc Marquez and Fabio Di Giannantonio. It left the Italian empty-handed on Saturday.
Aprilia held a meeting with Bezzecchi and Fernandez, where both riders apologised to the team. The former responded with victory on Sunday, but it did little to help his title aspirations.
The 27-year-old only gained three points on Martin in Indonesia, and he now sits 46 points behind in P3 with five rounds to go. It would explain why Bezzecchi saw his win as ‘more of a loss’, as his title chances remain fairly slim.
Ultimately, Bezzecchi had a huge opportunity to get back in the championship hunt, and maximum points would have put him in a strong position. That is what his camp expected, and through no fault of his own, he could not meet them.
Source: MotoGP