Marco Bezzecchi “will use Jorge Martin as a reference”

Marco Bezzecchi’s rapid MotoGP rise came to a sudden halt in 2023 when the young Italian managed only a single podium and slipped to twelfth in the world championship.

A triple race winner beaten only by Francesco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin the previous season, Bezzecchi admits his motivation suffered as he struggled to be competitive on the GP23.

“I struggle with the first touch of gas, the bike doesn't turn, I'm losing speed and often go wide,” Bezzecchi explained last season, at VR46.

“All the GP23 Ducati riders complain about the same problem. There are some tracks where I was able to adjust a bit, and some I struggled more.”

Fortunately for Bez, Aprilia saw last season as a blip and signed the 26-year-old to join new world champion Jorge Martin in its factory team.

Bezzecchi’s RS-GP debut at last November’s Barcelona test ended in 13th place, but just a tenth of a second slower than Martin.

Perhaps most importantly, given last year's cornering woes, Bezzecchi felt immediate confidence with the front-end of the machine.

“It was a nice first day for me in Montmelo,” Bezzecchi reflected at the Aprilia team launch. “I felt immediately good on the bike.

“The biggest difference was the front that was really, really stable. It's a characteristic of the Aprilia. A big stability. The bike gave me a good confidence immediately in straight braking.

“This was quite different from Ducati, that is in another position, so when you brake, the bike reacts in a different way.

“Then also of course, the way to ride [the Aprilia] is completely different, so I will need to adapt lap-by-lap more and more. But the biggest difference was this.”

Bezzecchi and Martin have spent all of their premier-class careers racing for Ducati.

The Spaniard had full factory support at Pramac but also went through a difficult phase, winless in 2022 and losing out on a factory team seat to Enea Bastianini.

However, Martin bounced back spectacularly with a title challenge in 2023, then absorbed the pressure of being world championship leader for most of last year.

Bezzecchi acknowledges there is a lot he can learn from Martin, on and off track.

“Well, first of all, his speed is huge. I mean, he's able to reach an amazing level of speed in such a short time,” Bezzecchi said. “Every time he jumps on the bike, he's very fast.

“So it will be important for me to try to use him as a reference, to see his data, to see the way that he works inside the box and try to copy everything that he does better than me.

“He is the world champion so at the end, he is the strongest one at the moment.

“Let's say that apart from the skills on the bike, that he certainly has a lot of, he also has a very good work ethic. He trains very well. But also he is very focused, very motivated every time.

“I’m also motivated, but sometimes it’s difficult to keep this motivation for all the races when you have tough times. For me, last year was really tough.

“He passed some difficult times in the past. He had to change completely his plans. But he kept anyway a strong mentality and a strong motivation.

“This is a good example to understand how much stronger Jorge is. So this is something that I will try to do as well and try to take him as a reference to improve myself.”

Bezzecchi and Martin will be back on track, with the RS-GP25, at the Sepang test from February 5-7.