Marco Bezzecchi says he and Aprilia encountered problems from the past at the Spanish MotoGP.

Bezzecchi ended Friday third-fastest but half-a-second behind Alex Marquez, who had 0.3 seconds on the field after Practice.

The Italian said afterwards that the day was good, but suggested that the high level of grip at Jerez was a factor in the reemergence of problems he and Aprilia have faced in the past.

“It went quite well,” said Marco Bezzecchi, speaking to Sky Sport Italy after Practice in Spain.

“It was tough because, in any case, especially with the soft, this is a track that has good grip on its own. 

“So, a few problems that we had in the past came up and it wasn’t easy. But it certainly went a little better than expected. 

“Now we have to continue to work hard to try to improve even more.”

For Bezzecchi, the objective for Saturday is therefore clear: to improve both himself and the bike.

“Clearly the goal is to improve, so we will try to face the weekend as always, working hard every night and trying to improve wherever possible, both in terms of riding on my side and in terms of the bike in general on the side of the guys in the garage,” the Aprilia Racing rider explained.

The Italian was also asked if he thought he could race the soft-compound rear tyre during Sunday’s MotoGP race. He said that it would be a possibility but added that temperature could be a factor in the decision.

“In my opinion, yes,” he said, “in the sense that this is a track that has good grip, so you don’t wear out the tyres a lot. 

“Tomorrow it seems that the temperatures will rise a bit. But if there were this temperature here and there was a long race tomorrow, it would be a good problem [deciding between soft- and medium-compound rear tyres] because both tyres are good anyway. Fortunately, tomorrow is Saturday.”

Marco Bezzecchi says he and Aprilia encountered problems from the past at the Spanish MotoGP.

Bezzecchi ended Friday third-fastest but half-a-second behind Alex Marquez, who had 0.3 seconds on the field after Practice.

The Italian said afterwards that the day was good, but suggested that the high level of grip at Jerez was a factor in the reemergence of problems he and Aprilia have faced in the past.

“It went quite well,” said Marco Bezzecchi, speaking to Sky Sport Italy after Practice in Spain.

“It was tough because, in any case, especially with the soft, this is a track that has good grip on its own. 

“So, a few problems that we had in the past came up and it wasn’t easy. But it certainly went a little better than expected. 

“Now we have to continue to work hard to try to improve even more.”

For Bezzecchi, the objective for Saturday is therefore clear: to improve both himself and the bike.

“Clearly the goal is to improve, so we will try to face the weekend as always, working hard every night and trying to improve wherever possible, both in terms of riding on my side and in terms of the bike in general on the side of the guys in the garage,” the Aprilia Racing rider explained.

The Italian was also asked if he thought he could race the soft-compound rear tyre during Sunday’s MotoGP race. He said that it would be a possibility but added that temperature could be a factor in the decision.

“In my opinion, yes,” he said, “in the sense that this is a track that has good grip, so you don’t wear out the tyres a lot. 

“Tomorrow it seems that the temperatures will rise a bit. But if there were this temperature here and there was a long race tomorrow, it would be a good problem [deciding between soft- and medium-compound rear tyres] because both tyres are good anyway. Fortunately, tomorrow is Saturday.”