Aprilia MotoGP rider Marco Bezzecchi has revealed how badly he was hurt after being taken out by team-mate Jorge Martin on the opening lap of the Japanese Grand Prix sprint.
Last year’s champion Martin made a rapid launch from 17th on the grid and found a gap on the inside heading into Turn 1. But the Spaniard carried too much speed into the corner and crashed, taking an innocent Bezzecchi – who had started much higher up in ninth – with him.
Martin was diagnosed with a collarbone fracture after visiting a nearby hospital for scans, ruling him out of the grand prix, but Bezzecchi was cleared after a trip to the medical centre.
The Italian went on to finish a strong fourth on Sunday, helping second-placed Aprilia extend its lead over KTM in the constructors’ championship.
However, it has now emerged that Bezzecchi hadn’t fully recovered in time for the race after suffering injuries to his limbs and back in the incident.
“Well, I feel pretty bad,” he said. “After Saturday, I hurt myself on the right leg, especially the knee [where] I already had suffered an injury. But also the hand, my back, my neck, everything, because of the crash.
Jorge Martin, Aprilia Racing Team crash
Photo by: Qian Jun / MB Media via Getty Images
“The worst part was the leg – the muscle on the thigh. This is completely full of blood, and also the knee. Bending the leg was very difficult.
“So, not in the best shape at the moment, but I will try my best to arrive in Mandalika fully fit.”
After visiting a local hospital for a check-up, Martin returned to the track on Saturday evening, allowing Aprilia to hold clear-the-air talks between its two factory riders. Martin later flew back to Spain on Sunday to undergo an operation on his broken shoulder.
Bezzecchi said he had no qualms with Martin about the incident, even though he was surprised how they ended up on the same piece of tarmac given their starting positions.
“I never had any problem with Jorge,” he clarified. “Of course, the mistake for me was a bit too much, considering where he started compared to me. I’m sure that he realised immediately. But we never had anything wrong.
“I went immediately to check how it was after the crash, because I realised quite quickly that I hadn’t broken anything. I felt pain, but I could understand that overall everything was okay. And I saw Jorge keeping the hand on his shoulder, so I went to check, and he was in a lot of pain.
“And then when he came back [to the track] after the medical checks. It was very cool at the end to speak a bit with him. He apologised, but to be honest, I didn’t need anything. Everything was okay already.”
