Marco Bezzecchi and Pedro Acosta were both fortunate to stay upright after a dramatic clash on the opening lap of the MotoGP United States Grand Prix.
The pair were battling for the lead on the opening lap of the race when they came to blows at the exit of Turn 11, with Bezzecchi emerging from the incident as the better of the two.
The Aprilia rider took a tighter line heading into the left-hander, but both riders ran wide on the corner exit as they accelerated onto the back straight.
Acosta was already over the kerb when Bezzecchi drifted into him, the contact unsettling the KTM and nearly leaving it on the ground.
Visible chunks of bodywork fell off Bezzecchi’s bike, but the Italian retained control to snatch the lead from Acosta – a position he wouldn’t relinquish until the finish.
The incident was not investigated by the stewards, and neither rider blamed the other for causing contact.
Marco Bezzecchi, Aprilia Racing
Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images
Explaining what happened from his point of view, Bezzecchi said: “Pedro was in front, and I wanted to try to go in front [of him], because keeping the front tyre fresh here is always a crucial part.
“At Turn 11, he braked very late, and I did as well, but a bit earlier compared to him. We both went wide, but he went wider than me. So, I said, ‘OK, I will try to pass him at the exit’ and I put my head down.
“When I put my head again inside the fairing, I was really, really close, and I couldn’t avoid the contact.
“Fortunately, everything went well. Very lucky to escape from this wobble with him.”
Acosta described Bezzecchi’s move as hard racing and suspects wind played a role in the Italian running into his path.
“It was really close,” he admitted. “Sport is like this, and racing is even harder.
“It was not the best way to start the first lap of the race. But you know how heavy the bikes are with the full tank, and the wind today was quite strong. It was not helping me to stop the bike, and maybe the wind was not helping Marco to go to the left. But anyway, we managed in the best way.”
Acosta admitted that he was pushing hard to remain in front of Bezzecchi when he ran wide at Turn 11.
“The problem is that I just have to play my cards, and one of them was to try to always be in the front and push from the first lap,” he said.
“It’s true that maybe in this braking point with the fuel tank, I pushed too much, I went wide, and then it was not easy with the wind.”
Marco Bezzecchi, Aprilia Racing
Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images
How badly was Bezzecchi’s bike damaged?
Despite the incident, Bezzecchi went on to win the race, scoring his fifth consecutive victory in MotoGP.
There were phases where the 27-year-old came under pressure from Acosta and team-mate Jorge Martin, but he was able to respond on each occasion to win by just over two seconds. Acosta eventually finished the race in third after losing a spot to Martin late on.
Bezzecchi revealed that the damage he was carrying from the opening-lap incident impacted the stopping performance of his bike, particularly changing its behaviour towards the end of the race.
“Obviously, I didn’t know I damaged my bike, but I noticed that during braking the bike was quite strange,” he explained.
“I couldn’t really force a lot in braking. If I tried to brake a bit late, especially when the fuel tank was a bit more empty, I couldn’t really stop the bike. So, a lot of sideways, a lot of sliding, and it was strange.
“I really had to adapt myself in braking. It was tough. But in the end, fortunately, it was okay.
“I tried to adapt my riding and try to use the other strong points of the bike to go fast.”
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– The Autosport.com Team
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