Aprilia Racing and Marco Bezzecchi claimed their first Sprint Race podium of the season with a third place at the TT Circuit Assen.

Marco Bezzecchi had not featured on a Sprint Race podium since he finished third at the 2023 Indonesian Sprint Race.

Since he last featured on the podium at the Pertamina Mandalika International Street Circuit, Bezzecchi has featured on two Grand Prix podiums, one as a Ducati rider and one as an Aprilia rider.

But the Aprilia Racing rider was able to finish in third place at the TT Circuit Assen in the Sprint Race.

The Italian rider was not able to fight with Alex and Marc Marquez in front of him, but was comfortably able to secure his Sprint podium return.

"It is fantastic," Bezzecchi said after returning to a Sprint Race podium at the TT Circuit Assen.

"It has been a long time since I have been on a Sprint Race podium. There is no better way to come back than here at Assen.

"I love this track, I love the fans, and it has been fantastic. I was very fast and in one moment I thought I could attack Alex, but I lost the front a bit at Turn Three, so I lost some metres.

"But we have done a fantastic job all day, now we look ahead to tomorrow."

Bezzecchi was not able to match the Marquez brothers as Marc Marquez won the Sprint Race and Alex Marquez finished in second.

After finishing in third place at the TT Circuit Assen, the Italian rider was able to move up the Championship standings from seventh to sixth place.