We came to Misano expecting a walkover, and fortunately, we got no such thing. Victory was hard earned. Sunday’s San Marino GP at Misano was not an endless display of passing, but it was tense from start to finish, the two fastest riders on the day keeping each other on their toes for 27 laps.
And for the first time in a long time, since maybe Assen, Marc Márquez had to work for the win. In fact, for the second race in succession, Marc Márquez had to give his all and could not simply disappear off into the distance.
Marc Márquez may have won in Misano, but the hero of the day was surely Marco Bezzecchi. The Italian kept Márquez honest, responding to every attack, upping his pace when Márquez pushed, keeping the Ducati Lenovo rider worrying about not making a mistake.
Bezzecchi rode close to a perfect race, taking the lead at the start and keeping Márquez behind him. But the Aprilia rider needed a perfect race if he had wanted to beat Marc Márquez. A single mistake proved terminal to his hopes of winning, running wide at Turn 8 and allowing the Ducati Lenovo rider past.
Manage then push
