That curse hovering over Marco Bezzecchi just refuses to lift. As Motorsport.com Italia reports, every single time the Aprilia rider lines up with a genuine shot at a victory since Mugello, his Sundays or short races implode way too early. First came a tumble on lap two at Assen, then lap one at Misano, and now the Mandalika Sprint didn't even survive the opening corner.
Things went sideways immediately when four machines arrived at turn one completely locked together. Fabio Di Giannantonio's Ducati sat on the inside, flanked by Marc Marquez, alongside Bezzecchi's Aprilia and the machine of Raul Fernandez. Nobody wanted to yield ground. A slight brush between Fabio Di Giannantonio and Marc Marquez triggered a domino effect that sent everyone running wide, forcing Bezzecchi to stand up his RS-GP before clipping Fernandez and dumping both into the gravel.
It's a shame if he's angry, but it's a race incident. I couldn't disappear and neither could he,
"At the end of the day, what do you want me to tell you? Unfortunately, the start is a moment where we are all close," Bezzecchi explained to the press in Mandalika. When he saw Marc Marquez and Fabio Di Giannantonio letting off their brakes, he had to lift his bike twice, feeling contact on the second adjustment before sliding out. Still, he insists it is just a racing incident.
That speed was real, too, which makes the early exit sting all the more. Bezzecchi knew he didn't necessarily need to lead out of turn one because his pace throughout the weekend had been strong enough to fight near the front regardless. While Raul Fernandez pointed an angry finger at the Aprilia rider—claiming Bezzecchi focused too much on squeezing him wide rather than defending against the Ducati machines on the inside—Bezzecchi isn't losing sleep over the friction.
"It's a shame if he's angry, but it's a race incident. I couldn't disappear and neither could he," Bezzecchi said, dismissing the idea of holding a grudge and brushing off Fernandez's sarcastic applause from the gravel as standard hot-headed reaction to a crash.
Now, the focus shifts entirely to resetting the mood in the garage and turning the page for the main event. Despite the bitter disappointment, the Aprilia rider remains upbeat about the raw speed they unlocked prior to the spill, determined to pull a strong result out of the weekend tomorrow.
