Bezzecchi: “Don’t care if it’s a 2026 bike! Harder due to riders, not bikes”
The VR46 Mooney Racing rider was fastest on the first day of the preseason test in Sepang, as MotoGP bikes hit the track for the first time in 2023.
This season Bezzecchi will profit from the same specification of bike that Francesco Bagnaia used to win the championship last year, but he insists that machinery is not the decisive factor.
“I hope to start well,” he said. “I don’t care if the rider in front has the ‘22, the ‘24 or the ‘26!
“I will try to go as fast as I can. It will be harder, not because of the bikes, but because every rider is very fast.”
Bezzecchi said about being the fastest rider on Friday: “It is nice for your personal sensation, but it is a test so it doesn’t mean so much! It is nice to see your name on top.
“It is just the first day so we need to stay calm, stay focused. It is a long season.
“It is always nice to jump on the bike and feel the incredible speed. You never get used to this sensation, especially on the first day of the year.
“At the beginning I had a small crash, I made a small mistake, something I could have avoided but nothing crazy.
“We worked with the medium tyre, not the race tyre. We struggled. When I put the soft tyre on, it was much better.”
Bezzecchi spoke about his 2023 bike: “The difference is not so big. In some points you can really use the potential of the bike very well. Some things work a little bit better.
“It is strange to say these things after just 50 laps!
“My plan is to get used to the strong points of the bike which, still, I am not really able to use.
“I will try things, because we are here to test, so it would be strange to test nothing!
“It was a good start but the target is to try to understand the different bikes.”
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
