Marco Bezzecchi is happy that he was able to turn his speed into a win at the Buddh International Circuit after all – Is he even thinking about the World Championship now?
After frustration on Saturday, joy on Sunday for Marco Bezzecchi at the Buddh International Circuit in Greater New Delhi, India. With his superior victory in Sunday’s race, Bezzecchi’s simultaneous retirement of championship leader Francesco Bagnaia has reduced his gap in the current 2023 MotoGP standings to 44 points.
“To have fought back like this now after yesterday, it’s great,” Bezzecchi beamed after the third win of his MotoGP career. The first had come in April in Termas de Rio Hondo (Argentina), the second in May in Le Mans (France). Sunday’s victory in Noida, however, was his most commanding to date.
It was redemption for him after the frustration of Saturday. Bezzecchi was involved in the start crash in the sprint, which was caused by his VR46 team-mate Luca Marini. Unlike Marini, who even injured himself in the process, Bezzecchi was able to finish Saturday’s race and even came in fifth. Nevertheless, he was not satisfied.
Sunday was completely different. Although Bezzecchi started from pole again, he was not the first to enter the first corner, just like the day before. Jorge Martin won the start and Francesco Bagnaia also out-accelerated the pole setter on the first metres, as he had done on Saturday.
After he had turned into the first corner in third place, but unlike on Saturday had done so without a contact, Bezzecchi put his Ducati brand colleagues straight to work. He passed Martin on the first lap at the end of the long back straight because the Pramac rider went too far in turn 4.
So Bezzecchi only had Bagnaia in front of him. He grabbed him in the last corner of the first lap. “I was a bit aggressive there, but it had to be done,” said Bezzecchi. And from then on, the VR46 rider drove his own race. He successively increased his lead. After 21 laps he was 8.6 seconds ahead of Martin, who just managed to finish in second place at the end of the race.
Bezzecchi reveals his secret to success in Noida
“I rode strongly today and had a good pace,” Bezzecchi analyses dryly. But then he reveals the secret of his success at the Buddh International Circuit: “I have liked the track since the first practice. Especially the long and banked curve is really fun. But I’ve been focusing mainly on braking, because that’s crucial here. “
“After all, Jorge [Martin] and ‘Pecco’ [Bagnaia] have been making time in this exact area at all the tracks lately,” said Bezzecchi, referring to braking. “And after going wide a lot on Friday because I wanted to find the limit, I moved my braking points a bit forward. With that I was really fast since Saturday and had an incredibly good feeling on the bike.”
It was already clear in Saturday’s sprint that Bezzecchi had the strongest pace in the field. But because he was caught by team-mate Luca Marini in the first corner, “Bez” had to start a chase from the back of the field in Saturday’s short race. This, together with the fastest race lap (on the last lap), brought him up to fifth place.
On Sunday it was easier for Bezzecchi. After he had taken the lead in the last turn of the first lap, he did not relinquish it. “I certainly didn’t expect to win by eight seconds. A win is always nice, even if you win by just a thousandth of a second. But with eight or nine seconds, that’s even better, of course. I can’t complain,” said the VR46 driver with a grin.
How Bezzecchi feels about the World Championship situation now
With Bezzecchi now only 44 points behind with seven Grand Prix weekends to go, is he possibly even thinking about the World Championship title? “To be honest, I don’t think too much about the World Championship. But of course it’s always nice to get closer. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t like it,” he grins.
“To have the chance to fight with Jorge and ‘Pecco’, and also with Brad [Binder], who is also still in the game, that’s an honour for me. They are great riders,” says Bezzecchi and announces: “I can promise that I will give my best until the end of the season. Now it’s off to Japan to a track I like a lot.”
And commenting on his commanding India victory, Bezzecchi concludes, “It hasn’t been an easy week for me because unfortunately I lost a friend a few days ago. So I just want to dedicate this victory to him and his family. “