With the Austrian Grand Prix in Spielberg this weekend, the first half of the 2023 MotoGP season will be completed. In addition to what is happening on the track, there are also a number of topics that are in focus off the track. One of these topics is the future of Marco Bezzecchi.
Will Bezzecchi, who is currently third in the World Championship, continue to ride for VR46-Ducati in the 2024 MotoGP season? Or will he switch to Pramac-Ducati to succeed Johann Zarco there? Zarco hinted a few days ago that he could imagine a move to LCR-Honda should there be no future for him at Pramac-Ducati. But nothing is decided yet.
On Thursday of the Spielberg weekend, Marco Bezzecchi commented on his own future as follows: “My plan A would be to stay with VR46”. The Italian means the VR46 team. In the VR46 Academy, he is also set for the future anyway. “The academy and my management are trying to find a better solution for me,” he notes.
With this, Bezzecchi is addressing the fact that the VR46 team is riding on last year’s Ducati machines, whereas the Pramac team is getting the current specification, which is also used in the Ducati factory team. This is the case in the current 2023 season. Pramac uses two GP23 bikes, VR46 uses two GP22 bikes.
For the future, the only thing that is certain so far is that Pramac will also receive two Ducati bikes with the then current GP24 specification in 2024. How it behaves in this regard with VR46 has not yet been confirmed. VR46 team boss Alessio “Uccio” Salucci had expressed the hope in July that one of Pramac’s two GP24s would go to VR46 for 2024. But it doesn’t look like that at the moment.
Gino Borsoi has been team manager at Pramac-Ducati, the possible point of contact for Bezzecchi for the 2024 MotoGP season, since the beginning of 2023. He also commented on the rumors about Bezzecchi in Spielberg on Thursday.
“He has to make the decision”
“First of all, the most important thing for next season is that we will continue to have two factory bikes,” says Borsoi in the official MotoGP Podcast, confirming that the Pramac racing team will remain a factory-supported Ducati satellite team on both sides of the pits.
“For us, it’s simply the best option to continue riding the factory bikes, because then everyone wants to ride for us,” says the Pramac team manager, adding: “Of course, that includes Bezzecchi.”
“But it’s not in our hands,” says Borsoi, who explains about Bezzecchi: “He has to make the decision, of course together with Ducati. Does he want to stay with VR46? Or does he want to come to us in the pits next season? If If he comes, I think that would definitely be one of the best options. I would be very happy if he were to drive for us next year.”
“On the other hand,” Borsoi continued, “we have with Zarco and Jorge [Martin] a great team. If it stayed that way, I would be happy too.” A decision on whether Zarco will stay or whether Bezzecchi will come is expected in the next two weeks.
Bezzecchi says: “I think Barcelona will give me a better idea of where I’m headed.” He is thus looking ahead to the Catalan Grand Prix race weekend (31 August to 3 September) scheduled in two weeks’ time.