Marco Bezzecchi says he felt “desperate” when he saw rain ahead of the Argentinean Grand Prix having looked so strong during dry running at the Termas de Rio Hondo.
The VR46 Ducati rider put in a commanding performance throughout the contest held in full-wet conditions to eventually take the chequered flag four seconds clear of Johann Zarco to secure his debut MotoGP win, the Italian enjoying an advantage as high as seven seconds at one point as he eased away from the field.
Bezzecchi looked to be the favourite for victory in the dry after nearly winning Saturday’s sprint race having expertly looked after his tyres, though admitted he felt his win hopes were over when realising the race would be held in wet conditions.
He revealed that his struggles in last year’s wet Thailand GP – a weekend in which he also looked rapid in dry conditions – were the main catalyst behind his worries, though says these concerns were alleviated after cutting some laps in the wet morning warm-up, where he found his Ducati feeling “amazing.”
“I felt very good on the bike and this gave me a sensation which is difficult to describe,” Bezzecchi told BT Sport following his commanding debut victory.
“Honestly this morning I was desperate because when I saw the rain I said ‘no’, I’m fast in the dry but for sure in the wet I will struggle a lot.
“Also because in the last season I was strong in Thailand, but when the rain came I did a bad race so I was annoyed because I thought we’d worked so well and it was a shame if the rain came today.
“But then this morning I jumped on the bike and felt amazing in the wet, and I don’t know how to describe it but I had the same sensation in the race.
“I started and was really competitive and just rode focussed but also enjoying the riding and my movement on the bike, it was fantastic.”
Bezzecchi added that he “will not expect to be on the podium again” next time out at the Circuit of the Americas having struggled at the venue in his rookie term last year, instead setting the target to simply “improve further” as he looks to try and sustain his newly-found nine point series lead over Francesco Bagnaia.
“Austin is a completely different track, it’s tough physically and I think it’s the worst in this respect, but also it’s tough in terms of the riding (style),” continued Bezzecchi.
“You have hard braking, slow corners, fast corners, many changes of direction, but I feel good because even if last year was not the best because I made a mistake I was improving, being a rookie there was tough.
“I will not expect to be on the podium again, but the target is just try to go well and improve further.”
Keyword: Bezzecchi left ‘desperate’ after realising Argentina GP would be wet