Marco Bezzecchi himself did not imagine leaving Austin with the same status as provisional leader in the championship that he had assumed two weeks earlier in Argentina. On Saturday, in Texas, after the Sprint race, the VR46 driver still had the lead in the title race, but he proclaimed to anyone who would listen that his Tavullia promotion companion Pecco Bagnaia was going to steal them from him the next day. However, for this formality to be completed, he would have had to see the arrival of the Grand Prix of the Americas. So much so that when MotoGP begins the European period of its calendar in Jerez, it is indeed Marco Bezzecchi who will appear as not only the leader of the general classification, but also as the leader of Ducati…
Clearly, in MotoGP, we can predict everything, except what happens... And that's not Gigi Dall'Igna, the general-in-chief of the formidable Red Army Ducati who will say the opposite after three Grands Prix contested this season. In Portugal, everything started well with a World Champion Pecco Bagnaia justifying its status as leader through domination. Then there were the crashes in Argentina and Austin. Meanwhile, Lt. Bezzecchi was gaining ground, and here he is now commander of the troops in the general classification...
The VR46 driver thus closed the Grand Prix of the Americas, the third stage of the 2023 World Championship, in sixth position. Starting from the second row, the Rimini driver remained consistent throughout the race, but in the final stages as he began to aim for podium places, the collapse of the tire forced him to settle for from sixth place. A rank sufficient to leave him at the top of the championship.
Marco Bezzecchi: “ I have to improve and now it's still early to think about the championship »
On his performance, Marco Bezzecchi commented : " it was a difficult weekend. At first we didn't get off on the right foot. I struggled on Friday. Then Saturday I recovered. On Sunday, I was doing well but I pushed a few laps too early and ultimately struggled a bit. The last rounds were survival. Maybe I could have finished fourth, but I finished sixth ».
« It's a difficult track, where I also struggled last year » he recalls. “ This year the bike didn't allow me to do what I wanted and I was trying to ride too aggressively. On the second day I managed to smooth out both the bike and the handling and we improved a bit. The team works hard and very well. The mentality is good and in the box it's fantastic ».
Yes but for the title race? He timidly broaches the subject which may cause annoyance at the next meeting at Tavullia... " You can fight for the world championship until the end, but that's not what I want to think about right now. I have to improve and now it's still early ».
MotoGP, Austin J3: classification
Credit classification motogp.com
