Bezzecchi stuns with 3rd: 'I burned my arse to save my shoulder!'

Fortunately, the VR46 rider, who had delighted his team by setting the fifth fastest time and was on an even better lap when he fell, sprung to his feet and walked away unharmed.

Bezzecchi later revealed he positioned himself as he was sliding to sacrifice another part of his anatomy and avoid his arms being wrenched when he hit the gravel trap.

“As soon as I was sliding, I tried to keep myself… I burned my arse to try not to hit my arms!” Bezzecchi grinned. “Fortunately, when I went into the gravel it was OK.”

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‘Champagne is a very good painkiller!’

The young Italian was given the official all-clear by the MotoGP doctors to continue after the morning session and stunned his team by setting the third-fastest time in the afternoon.

Fighting to keep his title chances alive, Bezzecchi was behind only the Aprilias of Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Vinales and ahead of world championship leaders Jorge Martin (fifth) and Francesco Bagnaia (16th).

But it certainly hadn’t been easy.

“Well, the pain is there. I expected a bit more, but just because I said to myself, ‘I want to expect the worst’,” Bezzecchi admitted.

“It's affecting me in every braking especially. So I can't perform in the best way every lap. For example, this afternoon I started slow. And then lap by lap I went faster.

“Today I took some painkillers, not very strong, but nothing crazy. I don’t want to take strong painkillers. But it depends on how the pain will go these days.”

It’s not the first time Bezzecchi has been riding injured, taking part in the recent Misano event just a week after being battered and bruised in a turn 1 pile-up in Catalunya.

“Misano was painful. But now it’s much more painful,” he said. “But if I go well, for sure, champagne is a very good painkiller!”

'I tried to convince everyone, especially my Mum!'

Reflecting on his decision to ride, Bezzecchi revealed his initial target had been to return for Phillip Island, next weekend.

“When I went back home on Monday morning after the surgery, I felt very shit. So the first thought was to skip this race and then go directly to Phillip Island,” he explained.

“But on Monday I went anyway to the gym to try to work with Carlo and all my crew. And then on Tuesday, when I woke up at home, I felt incredibly better.

“I was looking better, feeling better, moving more the arm and having more power with less pain. So I said ‘OK, I want to try today in the gym and then tonight I will decide’. And then of course I wanted to try.

“Not everyone was agreed. But at the end, I tried to convince everyone, especially my Mum! But yeah, after Wednesday morning I made a last check with the Doctor and I said ‘OK, I start’. I took the plane and I arrived this morning.”

'Rossi's a rider, he understands'

Mentor and team owner Valentino Rossi initially had some doubts but was soon won over.

“At the beginning, he was a bit more conservative than me, but as soon as I told him ‘I feel good, I think I can try’. He agreed with me. But he’s a rider, he understands.”

Team-mate Luca Marini, also recovering from a fractured collarbone, but on the opposite (left) side, was twelfth fastest.

“We had a lot of problems with the rear. I was near to crashing many times, and this is not the situation to risk a crash. At the end when we changed both tyres for the time attack, everything went well.

“But it's a pity… with a normal practice, I was able to stay in the top 10 positions for Q2 directly with not a lot of stress.”