Marco Bezzecchi (P1)
“I am extremely happy. It was a brilliant race. I started well and managed to get out front straight away. I really felt good – better than in the sprint race. We worked late into the night to try and find that something more, and this morning in the warm-up session, I realised immediately that I’d be able to be more competitive and stay in the pack with the other favourites. I am truly happy that I was able to win. It was a great race and a great day. A huge thank you to all of Aprilia.”
Alex Marquez (P2)
“I tried to stay with Marco at the start of the race, but I quickly realised that it would have been hard to do so today. I kept my position while trying to preserve the front-tyre. In the end, I was struggling exactly with the front end, especially in the final part. I had fun and generally speaking, it was a very positive weekend.
Pedro Acosta (P3) “We didn’t have the best grip from the beginning and that was the limitation for us. I was able to be quick at the end of the race – like yesterday – but we have things to think about. We have to be happy, again we have back-to-back podiums. I want to thank all the team, KTM, Dani and Pol. We know our weak points but we are working on them and being on the podium again is a good signal.”
Fermin Aldeguer (P4)
“It was a great race and we clearly did better than yesterday, when we did well already. I wasn’t expecting the front runners to keep such a strong pace, but we had a very positive Sunday and with a better qualifying, we would have been in the game. We continue to make experience and grow: it’s not easy to be fast in every circuit, but at least we’re always giving it a try.”
Brad Binder (P5)
“Happy with the job today. I felt I could do something decent after the Sprint and the confidence I had. I felt great on the bike and my guys did a great job. I was able to get a good start and push on right away. It was nice to battle a bit and good also that the changes we made gives a direction for what we need further.”
Fabio Quartararo (P6)
“I was pushing from lap 1 until the end – of course keeping in mind to not burn through the tyres, but I was not exactly managing the tyres either. It was a tough one, but I think we did a great job. This was the maximum that we could do with what we have. We are working hard on improving. I think it was nice to turn the Friday we had into an acceptable result on Saturday and Sunday.”
Fabio Digiannantonio (P8)
“The race was complicated right from the start: unfortunately, we got stuck in traffic in the first corners, so I had to recover some positions. We made a lot of overtakes and a good comeback, our pace was strong. But we finished eighth, and I’m not happy with the result. The positive thing is that the pace was there, and the feeling was good. With a better qualifying, we had the pace to be in the Top5 today, so it’s something we need to improve. We’re working on it and will keep doing so for the end of the season.”
Johann Zarco (P9)
“It’s good to score points again without crashing during the weekend, that was a small target after the struggles in Asia. It’s better to start from this perspective. The beginning of the race was quite good, although I couldn’t overtake Quartararo. After that, I struggled and tried to stay as close as possible. In the final stages, it wasn’t easy to keep the pace. I’m not riding the bike the way I want, and we’re trying to find a solution for that. Overall, this weekend has been positive, so we need to focus on that and keep working.”
Pol Espargaro (P10)
“I’m happy to finish this ‘cycle’ here in Portugal. It was a tricky and difficult weekend for me but I overcame the doubts I had for this place. I’m pleased: I finished the race in the top ten and delivered good information to the team. Hopefully now Maverick can come back soon and that’s great news for us and the whole project.”
Luca Marini (P11)
“This weekend we missed a little something. In the morning, we tried a setting in Warm Up but it wasn’t enough for what we were targeting. I made a really good start to the race and made up a lot of ground, but then I was not riding well in the first half of the race. We are still trying a lot of things, sometimes they work and sometimes they don’t. We need to analyse everything well and check the data in the wider context because this is a very unique track. On paper Valencia should be more positive for us to end the year correctly.”
Jack Miller (P12)
“Sunday went a little better than yesterday. I had a decent start and tried to challenge the guys ahead of me, but there were some areas where I was really struggling — especially on the exit of turns 14 and 15, and also through turn 6. When the tire started to drop, it just got harder and harder; the bike was pumping like hell, and I was just trying to do the best I could. So, not happy with the day, but we‘ll try to do better in Valencia.”
Álex Rins (P13)
“It was a really difficult weekend for us. It was hard to overtake in today’s Race, but I tried my best, starting from P17. I had the medium front because yesterday I was struggling on the hard. On Friday my feeling was so good with the medium tyre, and I think it was the right choice for me today. We also changed the suspension a bit compared to yesterday. It was a bit better but not enough. For the last GP next week, we just need to enjoy the final Sprint and Race, because the Tuesday after that the new season will already begin.”
Miguel Oliveira (P14)
“I‘m really happy with my race, especially considering where we started on Friday. We managed to stay close to the other Yamahas, in what we knew would be a tough weekend. It wasn‘t an easy race — it was hard to manage the rear spin, and when there was a bit more grip, the bike felt really unstable. Things got better towards the end, and I was able to push and do some fast laps. Honestly, it was the best I could do. Before the start, my daughter gave me the Portuguese flag, and with the beautiful tribute I received, it was really hard to put the helmet on and focus on racing. But when I crossed the finish line, it felt like a hundred kilos had been lifted off my shoulders. It‘s been such an emotional and special week — one I‘ll never forget.”
Nicolò Bulega (P15)
“Today was surely a better day. Yesterday, in the Sprint, I made a rookie mistake and only completed a few laps. The goal for today was therefore to finish the race and gain as much experience as possible, while trying to understand the bike better and the many areas that make it so different from the Panigale. In the last six or seven laps, my pace wasn’t too bad; I was able to be quick and to close the gap to the riders ahead of me. Then, unfortunately, I made a mistake that cost me three or four seconds. I bridged the gap once more, but it was too late. The important thing was to finish the race and bring this experience with me to Valencia, and all in all, it went well.”
Lorenzo Savadori (P16)
“The race was positive and I spent much of it in the group battling for points. We tried a few interesting solutions that allowed us to improve anyway. It was a wonderful day for Aprilia, with Marco’s victory which repays all the hard work we’ve been doing on developing and growing the bike. I’m happy for everyone and for Aprilia.”
Somkiat Chantra (P17)
“Today I struggled in the braking areas; at the beginning, it was difficult, I immediately lost the group. From the middle of the race until the end, I tried to maintain my pace, but it was hard to set consistent lap times. In the final laps, I struggled with both the front and the rear. Overall, it was a tough weekend, but we’ll see what we can do in Valencia.”
Enea Bastianini (P18)
“After the contact I had a problem with the fairing and my steering was locked so I had to stop. I think it was possible to do a great race today and when I went back out I felt the pace would have been good enough for the top five. As always it is hard to start from behind. We are competitive for races and we find the direction but at the moment we need to make the softer tire be more of an advantage for me.”
Francesco Bagnaia (DNF)
“After yesterday’s grip issues, today I was simply trying to stay with the frontrunners. I gave it my all, but unfortunately they were faster than me. My margin to the riders behind was increasing, but then I crashed: I entered turn ten a bit faster than usual and, while trying to decelerate, the front tucked. I was pushing hard and these things can happen. The positive note is that we made a step forward compared to yesterday, so we’ll try to do our best in the final Grand Prix of the season.”
Joan Mir (DNF)
“Our start today was good, and I made up some places, but I saw some warnings with the bike. A technical issue unfortunately again put us out of the race, not the same as on Saturday but the engineers are checking everything very deeply. It’s painful because we had some potential in the race, but this is what can happen. The positive is that we had good speed all sessions and we were able to improve and keep the pace of the other riders. One more chance to try in Valencia, the motivation is still high to end the season in the way that we know we can.”
