In 2023 with the Ducati GP22, when Marco Bezzechi won three Grand Prix races to finish in 3rd place in the MotoGP final standings. For VR46, he always used a braking method where the brake lever was always pressed throughout the corner up to the Apex Post Hard Brake at the end of the straight. . Indeed, the lever pressure when hard braking and when sweeping a corner is clearly different, but this braking style doesn’t seem to match the way the GP23 turns in 2024, which is used by Bezzechi and also Digia, Alex Marquez and Marc Marquez.
“I’m still trying to change because it can’t be automatic for me to ride this way,” said Bezzecchi opening the explanation. “Last year I was very strong to take the bike into corners with a lot of pressure on the brakes. I am very strong when stopping the bike when it is at an angle.
“This [GP23] motorbike works the other way around. So you have to stop well in a straight line, but then you have to release the brake so the bike can turn. When you keep [holding down] the brake, the cornering performance of the bike is lower than last year.
“For me, it’s still not natural to go in and release the brakes. My instincts told me to keep braking. But by making some changes to the bike and trying to focus on doing this while riding, I made some big improvements [in Portimao].”
