In the rain at Le Mans, two Aprilia riders achieve their best results of the season – Marco Bezzecchi struggles with strategy and grip problems
Three Aprilia riders finished Sunday’s chaotic Grand Prix at Le Mans in the top 10. The otherwise struggling Raul Fernandez achieved his best result of the season so far with seventh place in changeable conditions.
Test rider and Martin replacement Lorenzo Savadori surprised with a strong ninth place, and rookie Ai Ogura completed the top 10. Only Marco Bezzecchi faltered in 14th place.
“It was one of those situations where anything can happen,” said the Italian, looking back. As it was his first race with the RS-GP in such mixed conditions, he took his cue from one of the more experienced riders in the field.
“I looked at Jack Miller. He’s usually very good at making tyre decisions like this,” said Bezzecchi. Like Miller, he decided to start on rain tyres, while the majority of the field switched to slicks at the end of the sighting lap – which resulted in a double long lap.
Marco Bezzecchi: Early crash and grip problems
Bezzecchi was spared this, but because the track was quite dry at the start, he pitted after just one lap and also switched to slicks. “As soon as I was out on slicks, it started raining again. I tried to grit my teeth and get through it because my lap time wasn’t too bad.“
”But maybe I stayed out one lap too long – and then I crashed with the slicks,” mused the Aprilia rider. The crash cost him time, but because the engine didn’t stall, he was able to continue the race.
Back out of the pits, he battled the conditions on his second bike and rain tires. “I had the medium on the rear. It was difficult at first, but it wasn’t raining heavily. Once I got some temperature in the tires, I was able to set some very good lap times. I was down to 1:46,” he recalls.
But as the rain increased, Bezzecchi completely lost confidence: “I lost grip, first when turning in, then when accelerating out – nothing worked anymore. I just tried to get through somehow.”
Despite everything, the Aprilia rider is not giving up. “It was my first time in the wet with the Aprilia. In Texas, during the only wet session, we had a lot of problems and I couldn’t get a proper session in. But the feeling today wasn’t bad at all. The bike didn’t work badly,” said Bezzecchi.
His biggest concern is the medium rear tire: ‘We need to analyze why it degraded so much in heavy rain. The basic setup isn’t bad.’
Raul Fernandez: Finally a basic setup
Trackhouse rider Fernandez was responsible for Aprilia’s best result this time around. Like most of the field, he started on slicks, completed two long laps, and then switched to the rain bike. In the end, he finished seventh.
“In a situation like this, you can’t predict what’s going to happen. I tried to stay calm throughout. It was difficult, but we did a really good job and I’m very happy,” said the Spaniard, relieved.
The foundations for this had already been laid in Jerez, where he finally found a working base setup after the race and subsequent test.
“Now we have something to build on, whether it’s Jerez or Le Mans, even though the tracks are completely different,” Fernandez notes. ‘We were competitive in almost all conditions throughout the weekend. Now we’ve scored points and gained confidence, both for me and the team.’
Lorenzo Savadori: Test rider scores points
“The feeling on the bike was pretty positive. At the start and in the middle of the race, when it started to rain, I was able to push and was faster than the rider in front of me. That’s how I closed the gap, but then I had a crash.”
This caused him to lose a lot of time and two positions. Nevertheless, Savadori celebrated his best MotoGP result with ninth place. “I would like to dedicate this success to my physio and thank Aprilia. The whole racing team always gives 100 percent,” emphasized the Italian, “and today it paid off.”
It was important for him to show that he can do more: “When we test, we’re not looking for fast times, but today I was able to show that I can also attack in the race.”
Ai Ogura: Rain race as a learning platform
Ogura, the rookie in the Aprilia squad, appeared almost calm after the race. “It was like training in the rain, not a real race,” said the tenth-placed rider dryly. He found having to change bikes twice “kind of funny.” “I just did what the others in front did.”
In the end, it was enough for a top 10 finish, even though Ogura lost a lot of time, especially in the first few laps after switching to rain tires. “But in the end, I was posting lap times similar to the others. For me, it was a good race.”
As for preparing for potential flag-to-flag chaos, his team warned him that it could be a crazy race. But basically, he was on his own. “In a situation like that, no one can tell you exactly what to do. You just have to react.”
