The reigning MotoGP™ Rookie of the Year is aiming big in 2023, hoping to make an impression in what is set to be a historic year for the sport. Having stunned in his maiden premier class season aboard Ducati’s 2021-spec machine, Marco Bezzecchi will receive an upgrade for the coming campaign, and he is hoping to add more silverware to his cabinet.
The Italian, who rides with the Mooney VR46 Racing Team, managed to stand on the box during his debut campaign at Assen, while he was only a whisker away from adding to that tally at the Australian and Malaysian Grands Prix. In fact, more often than not, Bezz was well placed among the points finishers, an impressive feat for a rookie. Now one year more experienced, the #72 is targeting even bigger and better things in 2023.
"I want to set myself more goals: to be consistently in the top five to six. It's difficult, but it can be done. And I would like to win," he told moto.it.
"I still lack some experience as a MotoGP rider. You have to do a lot of kilometres and both myself and the team need to focus more on braking, something that has become very important in recent years. And I need to take a step forward in tyre management, also improving some electronic controls."
Bezz will add plenty more miles to the clock in 2023, as a historic year lies in wait for the World Championship, undergoing its biggest change in the MotoGP™ era with the introduction of Sprint races. Keen to see what the new Grand Prix format has in store for the riders, the 24-year-old admitted he tuned into more WorldSBK races to brush up on his knowledge.
"At the beginning, I didn't take it well, it's a very big commitment. I tried to follow the SBK more, see how they run the race. It's interesting, a new thing, very different, it could spice up the whole Championship."
The Italian earmarked Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) as the one to watch on Saturday afternoons, when the Sprint races will take place, while believing he has to work on himself before he can make an impression.
"I have to improve the starts and the first four corners."
The Italian certainly has time on his side and is acutely aware of where he can find improvements on track and where he stacks up against the bigger names on the grid – namely, factory Ducati counterpart and reigning World Champion, Francesco Bagnaia.
"He is fast everywhere, but on the brakes at the beginning of 2022 between us there was a really big difference. Then, as the races went on, it reduced a little, but he always had something more. There were some GPs that I did better than him in some corners, but overall he knows how to exploit the main quality of our bike, which is braking. He can bring a lot of speed into the corners and that allows him to go fast."
The relationship between the two is also strong, with Bezzecchi admitting he isn’t afraid to poke fun at his more senior colleague, even if he is the reigning World Champion.
"Every now and then he makes a joke, it's funny. But we make fun of him too, we've known each other for a long time."
It's set to be a bumper year for Bezzzecchi, and MotoGP™ as a whole, and the Italian is eager to impress and we can catch a first glimpse of him at the Sepang Test in February.