Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi is unsure if he would have won the Aragon Grand Prix sprint had he kept the lead at the start, insisting the Marquez brothers were quicker than him.
After upsetting pre-weekend favourite Marc Marquez in qualifying with a new circuit record, Bezzecchi lined up on pole position for the half-distance race at MotorLand Aragon.
He also nailed the launch sequence to initially keep the lead, but was powerless to defend against Marquez when the Ducati rider outbraked him into Turn 1.
Alex Marquez also capitalised on the opportunity as they battled for position, taking a tighter line into the left-hander to sweep around the outside of Bezzecchi at Turn 2.
Despite running the faster but less durable soft rear tyre, Bezzecchi was unable to challenge the Marquez brothers even when his Michelins were at their peak, eventually finishing a distant third.
While admitting holding track position would have given him a better chance of scoring a first sprint win of 2026, he conceded that he simply lacked the speed compared to the Ducatis.
“The lead could have helped. I don't know if it's the only reason, because I finished third,” said Bezzecchi, who was also compromised by an injured left knee.
WE ARE GO IN THE #TissotSprint! 🚥
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) August 29, 2026
Bez lead the way but @marcmarquez93 had other ideas! ⚔️#AragonGP 🏁 pic.twitter.com/saLR4wrEiH
“What I know is that my pace was like this today. So maybe if I was leading…but my pace anyway was like this. I think the others were a little bit faster.
“For sure, I should make the first corner a little bit better. But I'm happy with the result, because it's important for me.”
Aprilia duo Bezzecchi and Jorge Martin were the only frontrunners to opt for the less-favourer soft rear tyre, with the majority of the field running the more durable medium compound.
However, Bezzecchi doesn’t think Aprilia made the wrong tyre call, insisting the soft tyre worked well for him.
“It's easy to say now the medium was better. But honestly, this idea never really came to my mind, because I felt in a decent way with the soft. I worked well all day with the soft, so I was quite convinced,” he said.
“I'm not sure that with the medium I could do much better. Honestly, I'm more convinced that I could do worse. So for me, it was good.”
Aprilia has never scored a win at Aragon, a track where Marquez has won a record seven times across his stints with Honda and Ducati.
Considering the RS-GP was never expected to challenge the GP26 at MotorLand, Bezzecchi was satisfied with his performance on Saturday, as he also gained ground on Martin in the title race.
“It was tricky, but I enjoyed it,” said Bezzecchi. “This morning and this afternoon, I have to say that the balance of the day for me was very, very good.
“To stay close to the Marquez brothers in Aragon, it's good. And we still have one more day, so maybe I can get closer. We have to try to make a step.”
