Marco Bezzecchi mentions Valentino Rossi assistance at Jerez

Marco Bezzecchi’s return to form during qualifying at Jerez continued in Sunday’s Spanish MotoGP, finishing third in what was an all-Ducati podium.

Bezzecchi made a good start from the middle of the front row as he battled hard with Marc Marquez for P3. 

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It wasn’t until 12 laps to go when a mistake at the final corner allowed Marquez to close in, before the eight-time world champion overtook Bezzecchi half a lap later.

Speaking after his first podium of 2023, Bezzecchi said: “I’m very happy to be here on the podium again. It was a tough end to the season last year with my shoulder injury, but also the beginning of this year with the new bike.

“I struggled to adapt myself to the bike. Very happy to be here and to be competitive in qualifying, and the sprint I was there.

“Even though I crashed out and knew my feeling was good. The start was key and it was fun to have a battle with these guys.

“To fight with Marc and with Pecco who I tried to follow but he was too fast. But with Marc I was able to overtake a couple of times. I’m very happy with the performance.”

Bezzecchi and team-mate Fabio Di Giannantonio were both beneficiaries of team owner Valentino Rossi being in attendance.

And while Bezzecchi admitted having the nine-time world champion was a boost, the improvements made compared to the opening three rounds was ‘a combination of everything’, according to the Italian.

Bezzecchi said: “I think it is a combination of everything. My guys did a great job from the beginning of the year through to today.

“I also tried to adapt and it was tough for me to get used to this new bike. Compared to last year it was different in a tough way for me.

“I wasn’t confident with the front-end of the bike and when you miss the confidence with the front it is really difficult.

“So it was a combination, but for sure, Vale gave me a lot of advice during this period and it was good to have him here.

“Especially for the start, he helped me a lot. But I think it is a mix of everything.”