Bezzecchi turns Sunday around in Austin
Marco Bezzecchi extended his flawless start to the season with victory in the United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas on Sunday, giving the Aprilia rider his third consecutive win of the year and fifth straight Grand Prix triumph overall, stretching back to last season.
Bezzecchi controlled the race from start to finish, leading all 20 laps and crossing the line 2.036 seconds ahead of teammate Jorge Martin. Pedro Acosta completed the podium after a more complicated weekend that included a third-place finish in Saturday’s sprint, followed by a penalty that dropped him to eighth for the final classification.
Championship lead swings back
The win also sent Bezzecchi back to the top of the MotoGP standings with 81 points, four clear of Martin. That matters, because championship tables do have a habit of being annoyingly important.
Bezzecchi had not completed the sprint race on Saturday after crashing out, marking his second sprint retirement of the season. He arrived on Sunday needing a reset and, by the look of it, found one.
“This is amazing. I mean, I wasn’t expecting a day like this after yesterday, because it wasn’t easy, and I made a mistake, and it was important to bounce back,”
he said.
“Luckily, my team, my squad, was very close to me, and they gave me the motivation to try to bounce back.
“But anyway, I wasn’t expecting a race like this, and I’m so happy. I really can’t describe my emotion right now. Very, very happy and proud.”
History for an Italian rider
The victory put Bezzecchi in rare company. He became only the third Italian rider to win five races in a row, following Hall of Famers Valentino Rossi and Giacomo Agostini.
He also became the first rider to win the first three Grands Prix of a season since Marc Marquez in 2014. Not a bad way to keep the year going.
Polesitter Fabio Di Giannantonio of VR46 Racing finished fourth, while defending Austin winner Francesco Bagnaia of the Ducati Lenovo Team came home 10th.
