After partially making up for Saturday’s unfortunate Sprint race with a second-place finish in the Spanish Grand Prix, Marco Bezzecchi got back on the Jerez circuit for a day of testing. It was a productive Monday aimed at further refining the capabilities of the Aprilia RS-GP—which has now become one of the top-performing bikes on the grid —and bringing it back to victory as early as the next round in France, by fine-tuning every last detail. That's why there were no major changes made to the bike the rider from Romagna rode during the morning session, as he finished in 6th place, 0.375 seconds behind Alex Marquez’s benchmark time.
“The bike is very similar,” Bezzecchi confirmed, outlining his plan for today’s test. “We’re doing the kind of work you can’t do during the weekend, which is experimenting with some set-up and electronics solutions. So far, it’s going well. The track is fantastic and has a ton of grip. It’s so good that it’s actually pretty hard to figure out, but we’re definitely having fun because we’re fast. I haven’t tried anything essential on the bike yet. I don’t know if I’ll do it this afternoon.”
What is the Aprilia team trying to improve? “Everything,” Marco replied. “I’m willing to work on every detail and every aspect of my riding. I struggled all weekend, particularly throughout the third sector. So we’re also trying to work on that area of the track, which is very important. Overall, the bike still has many areas where it can improve, and we’re trying to do that this afternoon.”
Last year, at this time, Aprilia was searching for a path to follow. Now, it's working on the details to try to improve a bike that's capable of winning in three of four GPs so far.
“It’s nice, because it’s definitely the result of the great work done by our team, both in the garage and at Noale. It’s also a nice boost of motivation, because we have to keep working hard,” the Bez commented. He was then asked if he feared compromising the RS-GP’s excellent balance in an attempt to improve it.
“I don’t know if we’re the best, and we won’t know until the end of the World Championship. So, I’d stop talking about this... Anyway, in the end, it’s not about doing anything different than when you need to improve, even if you obviously can’t expect to find something that takes you an incredible step forward, like what might happen when you’re really struggling and find a solution that makes a huge difference,” he explained. “It’s true that we’re in a slightly better position overall now, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t improve... quite the opposite. It’s about finding solutions that always give us a little bit more. Fundamentally, however, I don’t think there’s any hesitation on the part of the engineers or Sterlacchini when it comes to trying new things. Ultimately, it’s only right to act this way—both on their part and on mine—since I’m always open to trying to improve my riding and anything else that can be tweaked, to try to do better.”
Speaking of progress, his teammate Jorge Martin said he managed to gain a few tenths by tweaking the bike, but Marco can’t say which direction he went in. “I don’t know if he went in my direction or did things differently. I have no idea,” he concluded.