One of the surprises of 2023 in MotoGP was Marco Bezzecchi. In what was only his second season in the premier class, he was relatively consistent in the fight for top positions and ended up in third… all aboard a last year’s Ducati Desmosedici GP22, by the Mooney VR46 Racing Team.
The start was encouraging for the Italian, with a third place in Portugal followed by his first career victory in Argentina. A triumph that even left him leading the championship after two rounds. In the press conference after the race, Bezzecchi acknowledged his family and Valentino Rossi: ‘
For my family it was very difficult, since all riders know they have to make sacrifices and it was very long, but it was fantastic because in the end when you have these good moments you also remember the difficult ones and you feel that everything was rewarded for this. […]
For Vale, the same, without him probably even with the support of my family it was almost impossible, because Vale gave me the opportunity to grow as a person and a rider and to rise to the World Championship and continue to grow’.
The lead of the World Championship lasted little for #72, who was overtaken two rounds later in Spain – in what was his first retirement of the year… before returning to win in France. Until the summer break, he continued to fight constantly for the top positions, also making another podium in Assen.
However, the second part of the season saw a drop in performance from Bezzecchi. Second place in San Marino and victory in the debut of the Indian GP were the last podiums in main races. In a more challenging final stretch of the year, he lost the “train” of the title fight to Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) and Jorge Martín (Prima Pramac/Ducati).
Nevertheless, the rider from Mooney VR46 Racing Team remained solid in third place in the championship since the German GP, which was never really at risk. He secured it in the penultimate round in Losail: ‘
I am really happy for myself and for the whole team, it is a very important result in my second year in MotoGP,’ he said.
In 2024, Bezzecchi will once again have a bike with a year of age. Repeating third place will not be easy, let alone fighting for the title. Still, the Italian has already proven that he has the potential to compete for the top positions, now needing to gain greater consistency: unlike the top two in the championship, he only managed to achieve two consecutive podiums in two moments of the season.
Marco Bezzecchi’s 2023 season:
Portuguese GP: Sprint DNF/3rd GP – 3rd in the championship
Argentinian GP: 2nd Sprint/1st GP – 1st in the championship
Americas GP: 6th Sprint/6th GP – 1st in the championship
Spanish GP: 9th Sprint/DNF GP – 2nd in the championship
French GP: 7th Sprint/1st GP – 2nd in the championship
Italian GP: 2nd Sprint/8th GP – 2nd in the championship
German GP: 7th Sprint/4th GP – 3rd in the championship
Dutch GP: 1st Sprint/2nd GP – 3rd in the championship
British GP: 2nd Sprint/DNF GP – 3rd in the championship
Austrian GP: DNF Sprint/3rd GP – 3rd in the championship
Catalan GP: 8th Sprint/12th GP – 3rd in the championship
San Marino GP: 2nd Sprint/2nd GP – 3rd in the championship
Indian GP: 5th Sprint/1st GP – 3rd in the championship
Japanese GP: 6th Sprint/4th GP – 3rd in the championship
Indonesian GP: 3rd Sprint/5th GP – 3rd in the championship
Australian GP: 6th GP (no Sprint race) – 3rd in the championship
Thai GP: 4th Sprint/6th GP – 3rd in the championship
Malaysian GP: 7th Sprint/6th GP – 3rd in the championship
Qatari GP: 13th Sprint/13th GP – 3rd in the championship
Valencia GP: 7th Sprint/DNF GP – 3rd in the championship.
