Bezzecchi Tests at Misano: Why Silverstone Is Still Open

• Four runs on a production Aprilia RSV4 on Wednesday, 29 July, at Misano
• The British GP runs from 7 to 9 August, with the medical assessment scheduled for Thursday, 6 August
• Bezzecchi is fourth in the standings, 22 points behind team-mate and championship leader Jorge Martin

Just under three weeks after surgery on his left collarbone, Marco Bezzecchi is back on a motorcycle. The Aprilia factory rider completed a private test session at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli on Wednesday evening. It was his first time on track since his crash at the German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring. Aprilia drew a positive conclusion afterwards, without yet committing to a start at Silverstone.

What exactly did Bezzecchi do at Misano?

Bezzecchi completed four runs on an Aprilia RSV4, the production superbike from Noale. Lap times were not the point. The question was how his body would react to the strain after the operation.

Aprilia confirmed the test on Thursday evening in a short statement to the media: “Dear Media, yesterday [Wednesday 29 July] Marco Bezzecchi completed a session of four runs on his RSV4 at the Misano circuit. His rehabilitation programme is proceeding as planned. His next appointment is at Silverstone, where he will undergo a medical assessment with the MotoGP medical team.”

According to one report, the test day was organised by the VR46 Riders Academy, which Bezzecchi has belonged to for years. The rider from Rimini used the opportunity to rebuild confidence on the bike.

Why did he ride an RSV4 and not the MotoGP machine?

An RSV4 puts far less strain on the body than a MotoGP prototype. The riding position and the forces acting on shoulders and arms are closer to those of a normal road bike, which is why riders often turn to a production-based model after injuries.

For Bezzecchi the test was therefore an intermediate step, not a return to racing. Only when he gets back on the RS-GP26, his regular MotoGP machine, will it become clear whether the shoulder can handle the real workload.

When will the Silverstone decision be made?

The call will be made at the circuit. The British Grand Prix takes place from 7 to 9 August, and according to one source the medical assessment is scheduled for Thursday, 6 August.

The final word rests with MotoGP medical director Dr Angel Charte. Without his clearance, Bezzecchi cannot take part in the sessions. Aprilia expects him to travel to England in any case, and that alone is seen as a sign of steady recovery. Until then he continues his rehabilitation programme.

Silverstone holds a special meaning for him. It was there that he took his first win on an Aprilia last year.

The Sachsenring crash and its consequences

The forced break began on 11 July. In Q2 of qualifying for the German Grand Prix, Bezzecchi crashed at Turn 7 and slid through the gravel trap. The X-ray at the Medical Centre revealed a complete, displaced fracture of his left collarbone.

He travelled back to Italy the same day. On Sunday morning, 12 July, Dr Giuseppe Porcellini operated on him at the Sassuolo University Hospital. The team then reported that the fracture had been reduced and stabilised. He missed both races at the Sachsenring.

A second, smaller procedure followed a week later. On 18 July the factory team reported that a wound on his left knee, sustained in the same crash, had been cleaned. Classified as a routine procedure, it played no major role in the recovery timeline.

How has his absence changed the title fight?

The crash was the low point of a run of setbacks that dropped Bezzecchi from the top of the table to fourth. After his win at the Italian Grand Prix at Mugello in late May, he still led the standings by 17 points over Martin.

Across the following four race weekends at Balaton Park, Brno, Assen and the Sachsenring he scored just 13 of a possible 148 points. He left four Sundays without a single point. In Hungary he was caught up in a multi-rider crash at Turn 1 triggered by his own team-mate Martin. At Brno a race ban followed after he made contact with a marshal following a crash in the sprint. At Assen he retired early in the main race, and at the Sachsenring he was out injured.

Marc Marquez took 108 points out of Bezzecchi during this phase and moved ahead of him on Sachsenring Sunday. Bezzecchi currently stands at 186 points.

The closest title fight of the MotoGP era

At the halfway point of the season the top five riders are covered by 24 points. The field has never been this tightly packed after eleven race weekends since the MotoGP era began in 2002. For comparison: in 2020 the spread was 28 points, in 2017 around 35 points, and last year a full 205 points separated fifth place from the leader.

Jorge Martin leads by 14 points from Ai Ogura. Marc Marquez follows 18 points back, Bezzecchi 22 and Fabio Di Giannantonio 24. The championship lead already changed hands several times in the first half of the season, first to Pedro Acosta, then to Bezzecchi, then to Martin and back again.

For Bezzecchi that means the deficit is recoverable across the eleven remaining Grands Prix, provided he returns to full physical race fitness. He won the first three races of the season plus Mugello, four of the first seven Grands Prix. Francesco Bagnaia, who joins Aprilia in 2027, still rates him as the fastest rider of the brand despite the weak run. Silverstone opens the second half of the season, in which the 2026 title fight will be decided.

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