Marco Bezzecchi admits Valentino Rossi is “pushing him to stay” amidst MotoGP silly season

Marco Bezzecchi has admitted that Valentino Rossi is doing his best to make him stay with the team.


Marco Bezzecchi admits Valentino Rossi is “pushing him to stay” amidst MotoGP silly season

Valentino Rossi and Marco Bezzecchi

Marco Bezzecchi has had a rollercoaster MotoGP season so far. The Italian rider has already clinched three wins with half of the season passing by. However, his future in the sport has recently become a talking point in the paddock. The 2023 Austrian GP was filled with drama and excitement as Ducati’s Pecco Bagnaia eventually went on to emerge victorious in Sunday’s race. Marco, on the other hand went on to finish third in the race dominated by Bagnaia.

One thing to note from the busy Austrian GP race weekend was Johann Zarco and Pramac racing confirming that they’re parting ways after this season. Zarco went on to announce that he will be joining LCR Honda Castrol for 2024 where he replaces Alex Rins who left to join Yamaha. This in turn had opened an opportunity for Marco Bezzecchi to get a seat with Pramac and get a chance to race on the latest version of the Ducati. 

YouTube video

In an interview, here is what he had to say about his contract situation with VR46 racing team.  “Vale is pushing a lot, to be honest, and I really appreciate this. To be pushed by the goat is something that not everyone in the world can say this. I made my decision already. I cannot tell you what I will do. Soon I will communicate it. But anyway, it was fantastic to have this celebration with Pecco and with all the VR46 riders.” he stated. 

FS Video

Related: Helmut Marko asks Sergio Perez to ‘forget the World Championship dream’ amidst uncertainty over the Mexican’s Red Bull future

Marco Bezzecchi’s priority is to stay with VR46, as the Italian has already made his decision 

Marco Bezzecchi (Via VR 46 racing academy)
Marco Bezzecchi (Via VR 46 racing academy)

Marco uses year-old Desmosedicis at VR46. Meanwhile the Factory Ducati team and Pramac Racing team have access to the latest bikes. Marco has stated that his main plan is to stay with the VR 46 team for next year and race with the year old bikes. This is unless Ducati agrees to change its stance on a fifth GP24 entry. 

Pecco Bagnaia went on to dominate the race weekend as he qualified on pole, won the sprint and also Sunday’s grand prix. The main race was where he won by a margin of more than 5 seconds to the second place finisher. Meanwhile, Marco Bezzecchi went on to grab the last spot on the podium by finishing third. It will be interesting to see how the championship fight goes for the remaining half of the season. 

In case you missed it: