Bezzecchi on his future: “I’ll ask Valentino for a raise”

Bezzecchi’s MotoGP future has been one of the biggest talking points in recent weeks, with the Italian needing to decide whether to stay at Mooney VR46 or join Pramac in order to ride a full factory bike.

Despite the enticing offer, Bezzecchi looks set to stay with Mooney Vr46 but joked he needs a raise from Rossi.

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Speaking after the race, Bezzecchi said: "I’ll ask Valentino for a raise." That statement was followed up by the Italian admitting he has made up his mind after several conversations with his team owner. 

During the Austrian Grand Prix, Bezzecchi had to fight hard against Alex Marquez in order to secure the podium.

Bezzecchi made quick overtakes early on but found himself stuck behind the Gresini rider for longer than he had hoped for.

"I made overtake after overtake and I was feeling good," said Bezzecchi. "I said ‘today I will have fun’, but when I met Alex I knew it would be hard. I was trying to manage the tyre but in the acceleration I was losing a bit. 

"But then, after some laps I saw that he was starting to be in trouble and I was really smooth, really trying to be smooth with the rear to be close to him but the front pressure went really high. 

"I tried once but  I went wide and then the second time I went wide again. I tried many times but then finally, in the third sector, I was fast and prepared the overtake for the second to last corner. I did it well."

After suffering a crash in the sprint race which left him with two injured shoulders, Bezzecchi was able to fight through and claim his second podium since the summer break after finishing second in the sprint at Silverstone.  

Despite the pain barrier getting worse after warm-up, Bezzecchi chose not to take any medicine for the main race, saying: "To be honest, the left shoulder which is the one that I hit on the ground was okay. Also the right one, which is the one that Maverick hit with his handlebar, was better. 

"I expected worse but it was better. In the warm-up I tried like normal, without any painkillers but after warm-up I saw that it was getting worse. 

"So for the race I was not nervous, but I knew it could affect me a bit. But with the adrenaline and concentration I felt nothing."