Marco Bezzecchi: “Many of my favourite tracks are coming”

Marco Bezzecchi arrived at last year’s British MotoGP holding third in the world championship, just one point behind Jorge Martin, who would go on to battle Francesco Bagnaia until the final round.

But while Bagnaia and Martin are again first and second in the standings heading into the 2024 Silverstone round, Bezzecchi is just twelfth, having struggled to replicate last year’s form after switching to the GP23.

The good news is that last year's heroics haven’t been forgotten and Bezzecchi has secured a factory Aprilia contract for 2025. But the Italian isn’t giving up on 2024, with some of his favourite tracks, including Silverstone, where he crashed while battling Bagnaia for the lead, still to come.

“The pleasure of being back racing after the summer break is always the same. I tried to recover energy, reset to come back even more motivated and face this second half of the season in the best way possible,” said the VR46 rider, who took one podium from the opening nine rounds.

“Many of my favourite tracks on the calendar are coming. Last year here I was really fast, competitive throughout the weekend and I hope to find the same sensations. 

"I can't wait to meet the English fans and discover the [special] livery for the race.”

Team-mate Fabio di Giannantonio, tipped to renew with VR46 on a factory-spec GP25 for next year, is yet to stand on the rostrum this season but frequent top six finishes means he holds eighth in the world championship.

“I can't wait for Friday morning! Even if there will be a nice surprise on Thursday with the unveiling of the special livery,” Diggia said of the 75th anniversary colours all teams will be racing with on Sunday.

“Holidays are always good: we were in Bali for the first time with the Pertamina Enduro colours, we had a real warm welcome, as well as at WDW.

“We closed the first part of the season with a great feeling riding the Ducati: we start again from here, the goal is always clear. Let's continue to be consistent, we can be there with the protagonists.”