Emilia Romagna MotoGP tyre “gamble” pays off for Marco Bezzecchi

A fourth place for Marco Bezzecchi came at the Emilia-Romagna MotoGP despite an off-trend tyre choice.

The Italian was the only one of the 22 MotoGP riders last Sunday to choose the soft-compound rear tyre. Enea Bastianini had chosen it in the San Marino Grand Prix two weeks earlier at the same Misano World Circuit but had found himself running out of grip at the end.

Bezzecchi’s result in Emilia-Romagna might have been worse than Bastianini’s in San Marino, but the former was nonetheless able to secure his best Sunday result at the second Misano race since his podium in Jerez with his odd-ball tyre choice.

“It was a positive race,” Bezzecchi told MotoGP.com after the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix. “I got a good start, and in the first couple of corners, as always, I’m struggling a bit, but I was fighting very hard.

“I was the only one with the soft [compound rear tyre], so it was a little bit [of] a gamble, but we worked very well with that tyre, so I was also quite sure that I could manage very well until the end.

“After, when I was behind Marc [Marquez], tried to follow him, I got closer and closer when we catch Pedro [Acosta].

“Then Pedro made a mistake and I started to lose a bit from Marc, but I was anyway able to keep a good distance and not lose too much like in the past races.

“So, very happy, because my rhythm finally was quite consistent through all the 27 laps and it was a solid weekend.”