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Ducati have put their cards on the table when it comes to offering the factory bike to Valentino Rossi prodigy Marco Bezzechi.
The Italian manufacturer has been very impressed with the job that Bezzechi has done this season. The Italian has shown an impressive growth curve as he has been able to win multiple races this season.
Bezzechi finds himself third in the championship right now, achieving all of that while riding a one-year-old Ducati. He's currently riding for Valentino Rossi's VR46 team but contractually the team can only use a year-old bike. To have a factory bike under him, Marco Bezzechi would have to move to Pramac Ducati.
Bezzechi has idolized Valentino Rossi and the Italian legend is treated like a superstar in the country. Rossi has also helped Marco grow throughout his career as part of his VR46 academy.
While Marco Bezzechi is facing this dilemma, Ducati boss Gigi Dall’Igna told GPOne that even his team's offer has its limits. He said:
"There really isn’t much room for maneuver in this sense. For us, Marco deserves a factory bike because he has shown that he has the talent and ability, however, our offer has its limits. We have agreements and the factory bikes are in the Pramac team, we couldn’t do anything about this."
Bezzechi can win with us: Valentino Rossi
Talking to Sky Sports during the MotoGP Austrian GP weekend, Valentino Rossi revealed that there had been a few discussions with Bezzechi over his future. The Italian legend revealed that he was pushing his prodigy to stay with the team and believed Bezzechi could win with VR46. He said:
"They have been intense days, our goal is to confirm the two riders in 2024 as well. We've talked to both of them and there's a good chance. We almost certainly won't have the factory bike but I spoke to Bez and I felt like pushing him to stay. The bike is good, he feels good and we have created a team for him. Changing teams is not always positive. He can win with us."
The VR46 camp might have to let Bezzechi go sooner rather than later. The rider is a pristine talent and if he can keep up this level of performance, he's going to prove to be a challenge for everyone, including Pecco Bagnaia.
