Aprilia Racing CEO Massimo Rivola explained that Marco Bezzecchi had been going through a difficult period after the Dutch GP and that the summer break came at exactly the right time. Bezzecchi was suspended for the Sunday race the following day after colliding with a safety officer in the Czech GP sprint; and in Assen, he crashed on lap 2, losing valuable points. These results led to the Italian driver finishing a Sunday race without scoring points for the third consecutive time.
A points drought over three races has shaken up the championship standings.
Bezzecchi's troubled period actually began at the Hungarian GP in early June. A crash at Balaton Park, caused by his teammate Jorge Martin, forced three Aprilia riders, including Bezzecchi, to retire. This was followed by a safety officer incident at the Brno sprint and the resulting Sunday race ban, and finally, a fall at Assen, which dropped Bezzecchi to second place in the championship standings. Martin currently holds the lead; the Spaniard is seven points ahead of Bezzecchi. Ducati's top representative, Fabio di Giannantonio, is in third place, nine points behind Bezzecchi.
Rivola acknowledged that the crash in Assen was entirely due to Bezzecchi's own fault, but stressed his understanding of his driver. The CEO stated after the race: “What can I say? We’ll send him on holiday for a week; above all, we hope he’s doing well and is willing to go. He definitely needs a break because he’s been through almost everything lately. It makes it understandable that he feels under pressure. However, he shouldn’t have made that mistake, especially at a point where he could have really gotten injured.”
Rivola praised Martin's maturity in Assen.
Rivola, who harshly criticized Martin for the crash in Hungary that affected three Aprilia riders, stated that the world champion showed a different kind of maturity in Assen. Martin took pole position at the Dutch GP and finished the race in third place. Commenting on this performance, Rivola said: “On Friday and Saturday mornings, Aprilia wasn’t the fastest in single-lap speed; but Martin took pole position with his talent. He had a great start to the race, he was opening up and when the Trackhouse riders started to close, he didn’t become reckless, he realized that finishing third was a positive result.” Rivola continued: “That’s exactly the attitude a rider who knows how to win a world championship needs. I said in Hungary that a world champion doesn’t make these mistakes; and that’s exactly what he did here.”
MotoGP will return to the track in August after the summer break. For Bezzecchi, this period of rest offers an opportunity to recover both physically and mentally.