Marco Bezzecchi Interview: "I went home and said, ‘yeah, it's possible’" - Exclusive

Marco Bezzecchi stormed up the MotoGP standings from a disappointing twelfth in his final VR46 campaign to third, behind the Ducatis of Marc and Alex Marquez, during Aprilia’s best premier-class season.
And he did it with a new bike and team.

The Italian arrived at Aprilia with all eyes on team-mate and reigning world champion Jorge Martin. 

But when Martin was injured in pre-season testing, then was kept on the sidelines by further fractures, Aprilia’s project rested on Bezzecchi’s shoulders.

The 27-year-old had never ridden a factory-spec bike, let alone steered development of an official team.

But he rose to the challenge, helping new Aprilia technical director Fabiano Sterlacchini iron out the RS-GP’s peaks and troughs while tuning his riding style.

Bezzecchi’s first headline moment came with a charge from tenth to victory at Silverstone, but the true turning point arrived earlier, during the Jerez test, when “I went back home and said, ‘yeah, it's possible’”.

From Assen onwards, Bezzecchi resolved a lingering qualifying weakness and eventually spent 144 laps in the grand prix lead, second only to Marc Marquez. 

After Silverstone, Bezzecchi finished the season with victories at Portimao and Valencia, plus three Sprint wins, helping lift Aprilia to a best-yet second in the constructors’ standings…

Crash.net:
It's been a big year for you Marco, becoming a factory rider and leading Aprilia to its best MotoGP season. How will you look back on this year? 

Marco Bezzecchi:
Well, it was a super cool season. A mix of experiences. Of course, being a factory rider for the first time was probably the biggest challenge that I had until now. But it was also super interesting and I was super charged to face this new adventure.

I found a really nice group of people to work with. Also, the bike was super interesting, since the beginning, because I liked the bike immediately even if we had to work quite a lot of course, but that's normal. 

The characteristics from the bike were immediately amazing. So I'm very happy now to be here fighting for the top three in the championship with many good races, many podiums.

Crash.net:
The year started off very differently with Jorge Martin and Raul Fernandez both injured, and Ai Ogura a rookie. How did you feel when you were suddenly left alone to develop the RS-GP? 

Marco Bezzecchi:
Well, it was super tough of course for all the factory, because the expectations on Jorge especially were super high. So we found ourselves in a difficult situation. It was, of course, a pity for Jorge in particular, but also for all of us at the races.

But we never gave up. Our target was clear, we worked super hard and came back to make great races. 

There was a mix between positives and negatives for me because being alone was not easy - Ai and Raul of course were there, but the development was more on my side.

But also it was positive because I had a lot of engineers just for me. They worked super hard and listened to me deeply to try to understand my feelings. And I tried my best to be precise. It wasn't easy, but it was also a very nice experience to grow. 

Crash.net:
When did you first think that you could do something special with this bike? You were very fast in a Sprint simulation at the Buriram test for example…

Marco Bezzecchi:
Yes, pre-season testing was good, but for me, the turning point was more the Jerez test. The Jerez test was super nice because we were already starting to see some improvements on the data, on my feelings and in the results.

But from the Jerez test, we understood two or three things that really helped us. And when I went back home after the test, I said, ‘yeah, it's possible’. 

Crash.net:
What sort of things did you find? 

Marco Bezzecchi:
It was a general feeling. Of course, we had some areas to improve, in particular the stability of the bike, but then we started to work and to try to improve everything together. Step by step, small steps, but trying to work on all the details - in all the aspects of the bike. And the riding as well, because the riding has to improve together with the bike. 

Crash.net:
As the bike changes, you have to change with it?

Marco Bezzecchi:
I already had to change because I was coming from another bike. So I already had to adapt, but then even more, day by day. But fortunately it was all okay. 

Crash.net:
Which races stand out for you this season?

Marco Bezzecchi:
For sure, when you are fast and grab good results, you remember those races much better.  Silverstone was good, of course, the first win with the team was super special and also, I was coming from a tough period. So to win like that was very, very good.

And Misano with Marc, even if I didn't win, I made a super good race. It was nice to make the pole position at home, win the Sprint and then fight with him to the end of the grand prix. To make such a good race, as we pulled many seconds away from third place, was really nice. 

Crash.net:
Marc has missed the last four rounds after the incident at Mandalika, but how big do you think the gap is now between Aprilia and Ducati? 

Marco Bezzecchi:
It's a difficult question because it's very difficult to make a comparison between all the bikes, not only Aprilia and Ducati. Let's say that I'm not really looking at this, I'm trying just to improve together with my team and try to work on our vision, on our way to make the best that we can. Then hopefully we can have more fights during the next year, and then we will see.

Crash.net:
How quickly did you settle into your new Aprilia crew? How do you celebrate a victory with them?

Marco Bezzecchi:
I have to say that I was quite afraid after last year because I was going away from VR46, a team that I know super well. I was afraid that maybe I couldn't find people that I can have the same good feeling with.

But honestly, after the first day, I understood that I’d found a very, very good group of people. Of course, I needed a bit of time to build a strong relationship, that is normal. But I have to say that they were super nice with me and I felt comfortable very soon. 

For the celebrations - we just let ourselves go! It depends on the moment!

Crash.net:
How is your relationship with Jorge, who’s had such a tough season?  
Marco Bezzecchi:
Well, we know each other quite well now. Of course, it's the first time that we shared the box and, as you said, it's been a tough season for him. But our relationship is good. I'm very happy that he came back for Valencia. He deserves to enjoy riding again.

Crash.net:
Looking to the future, how early do you want to have a contract signed for 2027? 

Marco Bezzecchi:
Honestly, I didn't even think about this yet. It’s still 2025. I already have a contract for next season and, at the moment, I'm focused on making the maximum that I can at the races. So this is not something in my mind yet.