BURIRAM, Thailand, March 1 (Reuters) – Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi turned Saturday’s sprint crash into Sunday’s triumph as the Italian polesitter led from start to finish to win the Thailand Grand Prix at the Chang International Circuit.
Bezzecchi stormed away from pole position to claim victory by over five seconds ahead of KTM’s Pedro Acosta and Trackhouse rider Raul Fernandez, while defending champion Marc Marquez’s race ended in dramatic fashion with a rear tyre puncture.
“Yesterday was a small mistake with a big consequence, so it was important today to try to bounce back,” Bezzecchi said.
“My pace was good with the medium (rear tyre), we worked super well all weekend, so I knew that I could be fast if I was in front. So I tried my all to make a good start and the bike was perfect.”
The victory made Bezzecchi the first Aprilia rider to win three consecutive Grands Prix, stretching back to last season, while teammate Jorge Martin and Trackhouse’s Ai Ogura completed the top five to cap a red-letter day for Aprilia bikes.
DUCATI’S PODIUM STREAK COMES TO AN END
Marquez’s misfortune proved costly for Ducati, marking the first time after 88 consecutive races stretching back to 2021 that one of their bikes failed to finish on the podium.
The Spaniard started second on the grid but struggled to match the race pace and was forced to retire on lap 21 when his rear tyre punctured at 176 kph (109 mph) on a turn, heavily damaging the rim as the rubber nearly came off.
Adding insult to injury for the Marquez family, brother Alex crashed on the very next lap, giving the two siblings who fought for the title last year a day to forget.
The drama unfolded early as Bezzecchi seized the initiative into turn one. Fernandez later slipped past Marquez before Martin attacked on lap four to put three Aprilia bikes in podium positions.
Saturday’s sprint winner Acosta also picked off the struggling Marquez, dropping him to fifth.
While Bezzecchi and Fernandez streaked away at the front, Acosta, Martin and Marquez battled for third with constant position swaps and clean overtakes in hot conditions.
ACOSTA’S KTM LASTS THE DISTANCE
Acosta managed to hold third while maintaining his race pace – an improvement on last season’s struggles for KTM – and later pounced when Fernandez began suffering from tyre wear to claim second place.
“It was quite difficult, especially the last five, six laps. I tried to give my maximum but I had destroyed the rear tyre,” a visibly exhausted Fernandez said.
Acosta leads the championship with 32 points while Bezzecchi is second with 25 points.
“Remember how much we struggled last year here even to take points and this year we make back-to-back podiums. For this, we have to be super happy,” a beaming Acosta said.
“Thanks to KTM… Last year the start was not the one I dreamed of and we survived to make it this.”
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)
