Marco Bezzecchi admitted that his crash out of the lead of the San Marino Grand Prix “hurts a lot”, but denied suggestions that he put too much pressure on himself in his home MotoGP race.
After putting his Aprilia on pole with a record-breaking lap in qualifying, Bezzecchi covered the inside line at the start to hold the lead from Marc Marquez into Turn 1. This was already a significant achievement for him, having lost the lead at the start in the last three races to his Ducati rival.
But before he had even completed a full lap of the Misano circuit, Bezzecchi lost the front end of his RS-GP into Turn 13, sending him sliding into the gravel trap at speed.
This was the latest mistake in what has proven to be an error-prone title challenge, with the Italian having now slipped 33 points behind joint championship leaders Marquez and Jorge Martin with eight rounds remaining.
Bezzecchi admitted that the incident was difficult to accept, even as he stressed he would like to focus on the positives from the weekend.
“Obviously, my speed is a good thing. A very good qualifying, a very good sprint and an improved start compared to yesterday,” he said.
“Now, it hurts a lot, it's undeniable. But unfortunately things are the way they are now and we shouldn't focus too much on the negatives, but on the positive things.
“Fortunately, we have Austria soon, so we try to work these few days at home.”
EARLY EARLY DRAMA!
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) September 13, 2026
BEZZECCHI HAS CRASHED OUT OF THE LEAD 😱#SanMarinoGP 🇸🇲 pic.twitter.com/WLIHTCc3oi
Bezzecchi had claimed a sensational win at the Italian Grand Prix in May, which remains one of the most monumental moments of his career.
Returning to his home turf this weekend, expectations were high from Bezzecchi to repeat his Mugello result and put a stronger challenge against Ducati in the title fight.
Asked whether he put too much pressure on himself at Misano, Bezzecchi replied with a resounding “no”.
Pressed further on whether he could have made such a mistake anywhere else, he added: “Yeah, when you start first you want to win, so it doesn't matter if it's Misano or anywhere else.”
Bezzecchi explains crash
Bezzecchi had been rapid throughout the weekend at sector 3, where he was gaining most of his time over his rivals.
But it was exactly where he crashed at Misano, handing the lead to his title rival Marquez, who went on to score his fifth win in seven races.
Explaining the incident, Bezzecchi said: “Everything was going, but I made a mistake at turn 13 and I lost the front.
“When you have a full fuel tank, you have to manage the braking point a little bit better.
“I had a bit of a shaking in the fast part, so when I braked I didn't close the line perfectly and unfortunately I lost the front.”
Bezzecchi said early evidence did not suggest that he had aggravated his injuries to his collarbone and knee.
“It looks like it's okay,” he said. “Now, the adrenaline is still going, so tonight I will understand better.
“Maybe tomorrow morning, but it was not a big crash.”
