Marco Bezzecchi quizzed on Jorge Martin’s crash and Aprilia’s multiple incidents

When Marco Bezzecchi spoke to the Sepang media at lunchtime on Wednesday, there was no further news on the condition of Aprilia team-mate and reigning MotoGP champion Jorge Martin.

Martin has been sent to a local hospital for further checks after a massive Turn 2 highside, his second accident of the morning.

“So far he is suffering pain at his left foot and right hand,” read an Aprilia update.

Martin was one of a handful of fallers on the opening morning of the Official Sepang Test, which included two other Aprilia riders.

While Martin’s test now hangs in the balance, Trackhouse rider Raul Fernandez has already been confirmed with a broken bone while rookie Ai Ogura walked away from a fast accident.

VR46 Ducati's Fabio di Giannantonio and KTM's Pedro Acosta are also thought to have been caught out.

"Well, I don't know exactly,” replied Bezzecchi, when asked if there was a reason for so many falls.

"What I can say is that we have not enough soft tyres on the rear, which is the only one that is working here in Sepang.

 "So I only ride with the medium and the medium on the rear is very tricky, very difficult. The grip level is very low.

"I don't know about the crashes from the other riders, but this is what I felt on my riding."

With Fernandez injured and Martin in doubt for the rest of the test, will Aprilia now need to change Bezzecchi’s testing plan?

"I don't know. First of all, I would say that we need to wait about Jorge,” the Italian replied.

"Raul, I noticed right now that he's hurt himself.

"We will wait for [news on] Jorge and then we will understand what we can do. For the moment, sorry, but I don't know."

Turning to his own track activities, Bezzecchi - 17th fastest at the time - explained that he had tried the latest Aprilia developments back-to-back with the initial 'Barcelona' 2025 bike.

“We tried the spec from Montmelo and then I jumped on the new one,” he said. 

“I adapted a little bit and then I made a back check to the spec of Montmelo and fortunately we put that [older spec] on the back of the box.

“[The new parts are] a small step, but still it's early to say to say something more important. I felt some positives, of course. 

"Everything that I tried was better, but I still need time on the bike to really understand how big is the step from the old one to the new one.

“But I felt immediately something better. So this is why I kept the new one.”

The first impression Bezzecchi and Martin had of the RS-GP at Barcelona - strong front feeling, instability at the rear - was again present.

“This bike is turning more from what I was used to last year,” Bezzecchi said, comparing it to the GP23 Ducati. “Of course, the rear of the bike is still to adjust.

“It’s a problem that we already had in Montmelo. Many movements, especially.

“I think it’s a mix between tyres but also the electronic side of the bike. 

"Overall, I think that I need more experience on the bike to understand if it's a tyre problem or a bike problem. At the moment for me it's a mix.”

He added: “In braking, I felt immediately very good. I'm braking strong and I'm happy about this because last year I lost a bit this this characteristic of my riding. 

"But as soon as I jumped on the bike I felt very good stability on the front. And this allowed me to brake quite strong.

“We have to work on all the rest. I mean aerodynamic side we need to work, but also in the electronics. This is the most important.”

And are you happy with the engine power?

“Yes. Power is good."

How does it compare to what you rode here a few months ago?

“Two Italian bikes… Italians are good on the engines!”