Marco Bezzecchi rode a strong season in 2023, but often dropped places at the start – he wants to continue working on this and reveals how his shoulder injury is going
2023 Marco Bezzecchi finished a strong third in the World Championship. At times, the VR46 Ducati rider even led the overall standings and kept his brand colleague in check, even though he was riding last year’s bike, the GP22
What often made life unnecessarily difficult for the Italian, however, were his starting phases. At the start and in the first few corners of a race, he repeatedly lost important positions, which he then had to laboriously make up.
It should be noted that Bezzecchi, as a rider for a Ducati satellite team, did not have the latest starting device at his disposal, which was used by world champion Francesco Bagnaia. But he also takes responsibility for his own start
Bezzecchi: Still room for improvement at the start
Asked about his previous starting experience on the GP23, which he will ride this season, Bezzecchi says: “The starting device is of course a little different to what I had on my old bike. That will certainly give me an advantage. But the bike still doesn’t start by itself.”
“I have to improve and continue to work on my handling of the clutch so that the starts get better. They were one of my weaknesses last year. But we’ve been working on it for some time and it’s getting better and better. Hopefully with this package it will get a bit better.”
However, Bezzecchi has learned a few lessons from the 2023 season, and not just in terms of starts. “Last year was a special year – with the sprint races, the new schedule and all that,” said the 25-year-old, looking back.
What Bezzecchi will take away from the 2023 season
“I learned to work as well as possible in as short a time as possible. That was the main focus. But I also improved my riding style, my handling of the tires and my braking. These are steps that I am happy about. “
He also reveals: “I have developed a lot in the way I work in the pits and in the way I work with my team. I try to carry everyone along a little, even in difficult situations.”
“But in MotoGP it’s like in any other sport: you never stop improving. You can’t let up, you always have to stay on the ball,” says the VR46 rider.
Damaged shoulder still plated, but fine
That’s why he often trains outside the race weekends with his colleagues from the VR46 Academy and mentor Valentino Rossi at his ranch in Tavullia. However, he broke his right collarbone there last year and had to undergo surgery, which is why he was not fully fit for some races.
However, the Italian can now say: “The shoulder is fine. I still have the plates and screws in it. I think I’ll keep them for the whole season, because I haven’t had time to have them removed yet.”
“The plates and everything else have to be in for at least six months, but six months after the operation is when the championship starts. So I will have to ride the whole year with the plates in me.” But that won’t cause any problems.
“Apart from that, the shoulder is now working well again,” assures Bezzecchi. “I trained with it on the ranch, I also rode motocross with it again and it all worked well. So I’m training and trying to be competitive at the start of the season – like every rider, I think. “