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The situation in which Bezzecchi is still undecided whether to stay with VR46 or switch to Pramac with an official 2024 Ducati is in a stalemate. Marco seems increasingly convinced by the idea of staying where he is, and he is even supported in this decision by Valentino Rossi himself, while it seems that yesterday's meeting between Uccio Salucci and Paolo Campinoti didn't lead to anything.
After all, we must also consider a fact: Marco Bezzecchi is the main asset of the Mooney VR46 team for 2024, above all because the team seems to have signed up with another main sponsor by now. To whom the presence of a top rider such as Marco has obviously been 'sold'.
The state of the art is that, even if Johann Zarco decides to leave Ducati for the Honda LCR team, Pramac would keep two GP24s as per their exclusive contract. One assigned to Martin and the other to the rider called to replace him.
"There aren't many names on the market - they say at Ducati - at least among the free ones, there is virtually only Franco Morbidelli..."; of the non-free ones that are offered, they don't speak about in Borgo Panigale, but the names are known.
The fact is that the French rider has been clear: "Ducati is only offering me a one-year contract and a move to Superbike in 2025. I would have a competitive bike, but I don't want to move to production-derived bikes".
As usual, Johann doesn't consider it to be a question of money, but of commitment in the medium term. Therefore, if Zarco decides to be lured by the Japanese sirens, Ducati will find itself with two free bikes: the official one of the Pramac team and the second one of the Gresini team which recently extended its contract to 2026, assuming Diggia does not perform some miracle.
In this case, the 2020 MotoGP world championship runner-up might find himself in an even better situation than the one taken on by Alex Marquez last year, finding himself astride the most competitive bike in the series. On the other hand, it is more difficult to find a rider for the GP23, even if it is well-known that Dorna is pushing for Jake Dixon by virtue of his British passport.
Strengthened by the victory in Assen and three third places - in Argentina, Italy and Germany - the British rider occupies third position in the Moto2 world championship despite two zeros, at Austin and Silverstone. Nothing phenomenal, he's a good rider, but it is a well-known fact that MotoGP - following the retirement of Cal Crutchlow - is desperate for a name to offer to TV rights holder BT Sports, which recently changed its name to TNT Sports following a massive relaunch by Warner Bros. Discovery.
The television situation in the UK is in fact not optimal. Eurosport, which broadcasts Superbike and BSB in the UK, is under the Warner Bros umbrella, and both SBK and BSB will continue to broadcast on Eurosport.
The subscription costs £29.99 - around €35 - the same price as the BT Sport Monthly Pass, but now also includes offers from Eurosport. It also includes access to discovery+, TNT Sports' streaming platform, where you can access Discovery's entertainment shows. Nonetheless, the Silverstone GP was evidently not interesting enough to be broadcast live.
This explains why Dorna is pushing to have a British rider in the premier class.
