Ducati: Aprilia got “unlucky” in Australian GP, can win every race from now

Ducati believes Aprilia got “unlucky” with weather changes over the Australian Grand Prix weekend, citing the RS-GP’s superior pace in dry conditions.

Aprilia was expected to dominate proceedings at Phillip Island after Marco Bezzecchi led a 1-2-4-5 result for the Noale-based manufacturer in Friday Practice. But Saturday’s running didn’t quite go as it had expected, with Ducati’s Marc Marquez claiming pole position in a wet qualifying before leading a podium lockout for Borgo Panigale in a dry-weather sprint. 

However, Ducati team manager Davide Tardozzi believes the sprint results weren’t representative of the true pecking order, saying Jorge Martin‘s speed before his crash and Marco Bezzecchi’s charge from ninth to fourth showed Aprilia still had a faster bike.

“I think that they’ve been unlucky because it’s obvious that in dry conditions Bezzecchi was very competitive. He came up from the fourth row to the fourth position,” Tardozzi explained.

“Martin made a mistake, but he was very, very competitive. I do not know if Marc was able to beat him at the end of the race or not. I think that it was head-to-head until the end, but unfortunately, he made a mistake.”

Marquez and Martin engaged in one of the best duels of the season in the Phillip Island sprint, with the pair trading position several times as they fought for victory and the championship lead simultaneously.

Martin made several mistakes during the fight and eventually crashed out on lap 8, suffering an unfortunate fracture to his arm in the process.

CT scans on Saturday confirmed that the fracture to his radius was non-displaced, meaning he doesn’t require immediate surgery and can attempt to race in Malaysia this week.

Marco Bezzecchi, Aprilia Racing

Tardozzi backed the former Pramac Ducati rider to fight back strongly following his injury.

“I”m happy to hear that he will be in Sepang. That means that the injury is not so bad,” he said. 

“We know Martin very well. He’s a hero, he’s a fast rider, so he will try hard to give us a hard life.” 

With Sunday’s full-distance race cancelled, Marquez now enjoys a 10-point lead in the championship over Martin, with Bezzecchi 50 points adrift in third place.
Just four rounds are yet to run this season, assuming the Qatar Grand Prix on 8 November goes ahead as planned.

While the events of last weekend have strengthened Marquez’s bid for a 10th world title – and second in as many seasons – Ducati insists the championship is still far from decided.

Asked whether he sees Martin or Bezzecchi as the bigger threat in the title run-in, Tardozzi said: “It depends on the Jorge situation. 

“I have huge respect for Marco. I think that 50 points is nothing. I think that Marco has the potential to win every race; every race from now till the end. So, I think that the 50 points [deficit] for Marco is good for us, but not bad. 

“On Jorge’s side, it’s obvious that his injury will make the difference in a positive or negative [way] – if he will be very competitive. That means not to win because I don’t think that he will be able to win in Sepang.

“For sure, it’s something that will tell us his competitiveness in Sepang and Qatar. That’s the difference.” 
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