The Italian rider is not having an easy season for his first in Moto2, and saw his future darken before Valentino Rossi's team offered him a ride for next year.
Beginner in the intermediate category this year within the Tech3 team, Marco Bezzecchi didn't expect to have such a difficult start. Supported by KTM, Hervé Poncharal's team learned during the season that the manufacturer would withdraw from Moto2 next year to concentrate on MotoGP and Moto3. For the Italian driver, already in difficulty due to his lack of experience, everything then became complicated.
“The part of the season where we started to understand that KTM was not sure to continue, until now where I was certain of having a handlebar, was really not easy” he explained to GP One. “There was talk of bringing me back to Moto3 and that wouldn't have been the best. When it came to deciding last year, it was almost more them who wanted me in Moto2, and this year they were talking to me about Moto3. Let's just say that it really wasn't my wish. Fortunately, thanks to a lot of work by Uccio and the guys at the Academy, they decided to give me this opportunity and it undoubtedly made me much more serene, because when you are serene you work much better, you have a free mind. In motorcycling it is fundamental. »
Indeed, the Sky VR46 team, which found itself with a vacant handlebar next year, left by Nicolò Bulega, wanted to bring into its ranks its protégé, who is already playing in the VR46 Riders Academy. A choice that surprised the young Italian: “It’s something I’m proud of. I was surprised when Valentino told me about it, I didn't expect it. In my career I have always been in other teams, so I had not thought about this possibility. When they told me I was extremely happy, especially since things were tragic, in a certain sense, for me at that time. »
“I will be able to speak Italian in the box and that’s not nothing! I have never spoken Italian in the box, this will be the first time! » he enthuses. “And then there’s the ‘family’ factor, because these are the people I work with at home. I've known the guys on the team for five years, in practice almost since the team existed, and even if I've never raced for them I know them all very well. I am really happy. »
In the meantime, he will continue his season and hopes to take another step forward by the end of the season. Entering the points at the Dutch Grand Prix thanks to a superb top 10, he achieved it again two other times, the last of which in Aragón: “When you are in difficulty everything seems dark, but the hard work that we have done since the start of the season and until now, and that we will continue to do until Valencia, is paying off and will continue to do so. Lately I managed to be a bit further ahead in the standings, I also made some brilliant moves in testing. I think I have grown a lot as a driver and in the way I work. »
