The Italian was the last rider on the 2022 MotoGP grid to be confirmed, but Marco Bezzecchi, who always trusted that he would make the leap this year to the premier class with Valentino Rossi’s Academy team, has been visualizing his first steps for months among the greats.
Riding a Ducati GP21, Bezzecchi has gone from less to more during the three shakedown test days for testers, rookies and teams with concessions that ended this Wednesday under oppressive heat and humidity at the Sepang tracks, where he signed the fourth fastest time of the day (1:59.711), only surpassed by the Aprilia of Maverick Viñales and Aleix Espargaró, and by the best rookie of the test, the Spanish Raúl Fernández.
“It has been a good day, better than Tuesday, because we have been able to polish the details a little more. I am happy with how this shakedown has gone, because every day we have taken a small step forward and I have improved my sensations on the bike”, explained the young Italian at the end of the day.
“The team did an incredible job, so I can’t complain. But we will evaluate our level better in the next few days of testing,” he said, referring to the tests on Saturday and Sunday, at this same circuit, in which everyone will already be the pilots.
One of the areas where rookies suffer the most when making the jump to MotoGP is the physical aspect, but less and less as the young talents prepare thoroughly for the challenge.
“At the moment I am happy with the physical aspect, although I have never tried to do a long start during these three days, we have not done many laps in a row at any time. We will do a race simulation soon and things will be clearer then, but for Now physically everything is fine,” said the 23-year-old.
This Wednesday, in addition to the rookies and testers, two expert riders from the premier class rode together, such as Maverick Viñales and Aleix Espargaró , whom Bezzecchi was able to follow for a few moments.
“I managed to follow him, because I caught up with him on the track. I followed him for a lap or two, but then he slipped away a bit…” he said. “So it was not easy to get hooked. Surely in the next two days of testing it will be easier to find a ‘hook’ on the track, but I will not look for anyone in particular,” he said.
During the three days, Bezzecchi has been able to accumulate a total of 126 laps, which are added to the two days of testing that he already did last November in Jerez.
“In Jerez it was a bit more complicated. Here I felt better almost immediately, without doing great things on the bike, because we only tried a few things on the handlebars. I’m happy, because I think we’ve taken a good step forward. I have to continue trying hard, but little by little I am gaining some confidence.
Just as the young Tech3-KTM riders are counting on the help of an expert like Dani Pedrosa, a tester for the Austrian brand, when it comes to giving them some advice, this Wednesday, Bezzecchi received a visit from the tip of Lance of the Ducati project, Pecco Bagnaia, who made some recommendations to him, it is not in vain that they are friends and colleagues of the Valentino Academy.
“He came to say hello and gave me some advice. Pecco is very nice and cares a lot about the Ducati project, so he is trying to give us a hand,” he explained. “In that sense, he gave me some advice, but it is not easy to put everything they tell you into practice, although I must admit that they were very valuable advice,” settled the boy from Rimini .
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