A third place for Marco Bezzecchi came as a surprise to the Italian at the British MotoGP, such was the extent of his physical limitation.

Bezzecchi had missed the races at Germany at the previous round because of injuries he sustained in qualifying there. He revealed at Silverstone that it was not only his broken collarbone that required surgery, but also his knee where he had lost some bone in the Q2 crash at Sachsenring.

The Italian set a new MotoGP lap record on Friday at Silverstone, although he only qualified fifth on Saturday morning. A third place in the Sprint followed in the afternoon, and he was third again in the grand prix on Sunday – his first grand prix finish since he won at Mugello.

“It’s been a tough weekend, a tough period in general, but we worked hard through the whole summer break, we worked hard especially here with all my team to get a good comeback,” Marco Bezzecchi told MotoGP.com after the race at Silverstone.

“Obviously I didn’t expect such a great one. 

“This track was for sure a very nice one for us, and very happy, very satisfied, gave my all, couldn’t give anything more because I’m destroyed now. But it was good.”

Bezzecchi said that he was managing the race at the beginning, more for his body than the tyre, and that Alex Marquez’s error at turn one, when he ran wide and handed back third place only moments after he had taken it from the Italian, was a turning point in the 20-lapper.

“Let’s say that I was trying to manage a little bit at the beginning because, obviously the tyre, but more regarding my physical condition – I knew that, if I started too fast, maybe I was gone after five or six laps,” Bezzecchi explained.

“So, seeing Raul [Fernandez] going away, I was pretty sad because I could see that in terms of speed I could stay there, but I knew that if I tried I would have lasted not enough laps. 

“So, I said ‘Okay, let’s set a new mindset and try to be calm’. 

“Then I saw obviously Jorge [Martin] coming super-fast towards me. When he passed me I was physically and mentally done. In fact, I lost a lot of ground in half-a-lap, but also I got passed by Alex [Marquez]. 

“Then Alex made a mistake in turn one, and that moment was a key moment for me because I said ‘This is a possibility and I have to take it’. 

“I was tired, but then I started enjoying more on the bike – feeling the pain, but at least feeling confident. 

“I said ‘Okay, I give my all, I want this so bad and I have to try’. 

“It was a tough battle with him, he’s always super-good everywhere, but in these kinds of tracks even more; his skills in these kinds of long corners are very difficult to beat. So, very satisfied.”