Marco Bezzechi has divulged that visibility issues cost him the podium in his battle with Marc Marquez at the Japanese MotoGP on Sunday. The event was affected by rain, catching quite a few riders off-guard. The inclement weather also helped a few others to truly shine in the process.
In all of this though, the battle at the front was extremely intriguing. With Jorge Martin able to pull out a decent gap as soon as he got ahead, he was being chased down by championship leader Francesco Bagnaia. Behind the leading duo, there was a battle between Bezzechi and Marquez for the third spot on the podium.
As soon as the rain intensified and it came down to the riders making a difference, Marc Marquez came into his own and overtook Marco Bezzechi.
Talking to MotoGP.com after the race, Bezzechi was not too disappointed as this was his first MotoGP race in such conditions in MotoGP. He also stated that he lost out to the Repsol Honda because of visibility issues.
“I started well, but at the first corner, to avoid Pecco, I crashed with two other riders. Then at turn three, I felt another bump and found myself at the back of the group. Not bad for the first flag to flag of my career. On the one hand, I am happy with the final placing, considering that we have never ridden in the wet here, we were in the strongest group until the red flag," he said.
"I was feeling good in the wet. But unfortunately, the others were a little bit faster, Pecco especially Then in the end I started to have problems with the visibility. It was difficult to see. I had a problem with the windscreen with my bike. So I lost some time and Marc passed me," Bezzechi added.
VR46 team boss calls Marco Bezzechi losing out to Marc Marquez a bittersweet result
VR46 team boss Pablo Nieto was not too happy with Marco Bezzechi losing out to Marc Marquez in the battle for the podium. Nieto still looked at the silver lining as the team picked up a decent haul of points over the weekend.
“After the red flag, I imagined we wouldn't start again: it was really too dangerous for everyone. Considering everything, we must be satisfied with having brought home two excellent placings between Sprint and GP. Obviously, a bitter taste remains in the mouth for the podium just missed on the red flag. Let's not give up, let's continue to work hard towards the end of the season,” he elaborated.
Marc Marquez has been able to maintain a decent run of results in the last few races and while a podium finish is certainly a surprise, the speculation surrounding his future continues to make news.