Will Marco Bezzecchi leave the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team?

At the Catalunya Grand Prix yesterday, Marco Bezzecchi again underwent a quite difficult race weekend, after only being able to secure the starting grid in 16th place, two races on the Montmelo – Barcelona circuit were indeed far from Bezz’s hopes, who were optimistic that he could recover from the bad results at Le Mans, France, even though he was able to bring home points in the two days of the 6th series of MotoGP racing in Catalunya. In a condition where he is still struggling to return to his level of performance like last season, Bezzecchi inevitably has to be willing to be eliminated from the radar of Pecco Bagnaia’s potential partner in the Lenovo Ducati main team for MotoGP 2025.

In the midst of rumors about who will be Bagnaia’s partner next season, it is rumored that Bezz will leave Ducati and also the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team next season. Apart from rumors circulating that the VR46 Racing Team will move to another manufacturer, it is suspected that this is what made Bezz think about leaving the team.

Uccio Salucci as team manager continues to explain and refute all existing rumors by assuring that the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team will continue to use Ducati motorbikes next season. It is also rumored that Bezzecchi will turn to other factory teams such as Aprilia, which is looking for a replacement rider for Aleix Espargaro, who will retire at the end of the 2024 season.

“Of course, my ambition is to be in a factory team. But I also want to fight to have a good race. Luckily Ducati is very competitive, even though it is not a factory bike. I’ll see what possibilities I have for 2025. I’ll have to think about it. But right now, I’m not competitive enough!” he said.

If we quote from his statement that he wants a factory team while the position at Lenovo Ducati is currently being contested by Jorge Martin and Marc Marquez, then the only other option if Bezzecchi really wants a factory team seat so far is Aprilia Racing. Although to get it, Bezz has to compete with Enea Bastianini, whose ranking in the drivers’ standings is currently higher than Bezzecchi’s points ranking.

The fight for a seat at Aprilia is not as complicated as choosing a tandem for Pecco Bagnaia at Lenovo Ducati, Aprilia has a tendency to keep Maverick Vinales. And they said in another statement that they were targeting a racer from Italy to defend them. A reasonable option for Bezzecchi if he is determined to move to a factory team.

Meanwhile, Valentino Rossi as the owner of the VR46 Racing team will again be held back from turning to another satellite/independent team, as was the case last season when he was offered a place at Prima Pramac Ducati to use the newest GP24 motorbike this season.

It is true that changing teams will require a period of adaptation to the team atmosphere, adaptation to the performance of the crew which is different from the old team, so Bezz chose the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team as his place for the 2024 season.

Apart from that, the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team has the opportunity to get a factory spec motorbike next season, meaning they can get a Ducati Desmosedici GP25 unit and this can be allocated for use by Bezzecchi next year. Because the possibility of the Pramac team parting ways with Ducati is quite large, with rumors in the paddock stating that they are in negotiations with Yamaha. Meanwhile, when Ducati left the Pramac Racing team, there were only 2 satellite teams; Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team and Gresini Racing team.

Ducati Corse informed that there are plans for next season where Ducati will implement a new strategy that is different and crucial for satellite teams. Ducati Corse has planned to change its factory motorbike unit allocation agreement with independent teams. Namely, starting in 2025, the factory specification motorbike quota will be divided between two satellite teams, and will no longer implement the Junior Team strategy like with Pramac Racing with full factory support there.

So, if Marco Bezzecchi still wants to stay with the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team provided that Ducati Corse realizes his plan, he will have the opportunity to get a share of Ducati GP25 motorbikes throughout the upcoming 2025 MotoGP season.

Remember, friend, after homologating the engine and aerodynamics at the start of the season, racers will continue to use those specs until the season ends. Factory support in independent teams can still appear strong as long as the adaptation period to the motorbike is fast, what’s more, the latest support parts after research at the factory will definitely be obtained quickly, just like the opportunity for racers in the main team.