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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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: \u201cWhat can I say? We\u2019ll send him on holiday for a week; above all, we hope he\u2019s doing well and is willing to go. He definitely needs a break because he\u2019s been through almost everything lately. It makes it understandable that he feels under pressure. However, he shouldn\u2019t have made that mistake, especially at a point where he could have really gotten injured.\u201d<\/p>\n
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: \u201cOn Friday and Saturday mornings, Aprilia wasn\u2019t 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\u2019t become reckless, he realized that finishing third was a positive result.\u201d Rivola continued: \u201cThat\u2019s exactly the attitude a rider who knows how to win a world championship needs. I said in Hungary that a world champion doesn\u2019t make these mistakes; and that\u2019s exactly what he did here.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n