Gresini Ducati’s Alex Marquez conceded that Marco Bezzecchi was “unbeatable” in Sunday’s Portuguese Grand Prix after Aprilia “made the click” overnight to unlock dominant pace at Portimao.
Marquez had entered the race as favourite after winning Saturday’s Sprint and showing strong pace throughout Friday’s sessions, but Bezzecchi’s speed in morning warm-up made the challenge clear.
“Honestly speaking, Marco was faster than us today,” said Marquez. “From the warm-up, I saw him flying and said, ‘Wow, it will be tough.’ But okay, nothing to lose, we’ll try to go with him.”
The Spaniard moved into second place early in the race after passing Pedro Acosta, but soon found himself unable to match Bezzecchi’s rhythm. As the laps went on, Marquez began to struggle with front tyre wear, particularly on the right-hand side.
“I suffered to keep the second position from Pedro,” he explained. “Yesterday we were the fastest on track, but today Marco was much better than us. They made the click on Sunday — they were unbeatable.”
Marquez highlighted that Bezzecchi and Aprilia had superior corner entry and flow, forcing him to push harder and cause tyre graining: “Marco was flowing more than me. He could keep the line and manage the front better, while I had to force the bike too much in the last corner.”
Despite missing out on the double, Marquez secured a valuable second place — his fifth podium of the season — as he continues to fine-tune the Desmosedici setup for fast, bumpy tracks.
