How Bezzecchi reminds Aprilia boss of MotoGP legend Rossi

Aprilia technical director Fabiano Sterlacchini says Marco Bezzecchi’s focus and methodical approach echo those of his mentor and seven-time MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi.

Bezzecchi has been one of the standout performers of the 2025 MotoGP season, scoring six podiums, three pole positions and a memorable victory at the British Grand Prix.

At Mandalika last weekend, he dominated qualifying by four tenths, fought back from a poor start to take a last-lap sprint win, and looked favourite for victory on Sunday until an early collision with Marc Marquez left him in the gravel.

Nevertheless, the 26-year-old remains the top non-Ducati rider in the championship in fourth place, as well as the only one to beat the Borgo Panigale marque to a dry-weather win this season.

Sterlacchini, who previously worked with Rossi at Ducati before moving to KTM and then to Aprilia in 2025, praised Bezzecchi’s mix of humour, discipline and technical insight, likening him to the Italian legend.

“I think that [from the] outside, in the way that the people are figuring out how Marco is, it is completely wrong,” Sterlacchini told Autosport.

Fabio Sterlacchini. Aprilia Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images

“He looks like a strange guy or a funny guy - tricky and explosive. But the moment that he is working, he is unbelievable. I believe that [he is like that] probably because he is coming from the VR46 academy. 

“I had the opportunity and also the privilege to work with Valentino a long time ago. I believe that there are several aspects [in which] that he remind me of the way that Valentino was working. 

“After he was [done] riding the bike, he was joking with the people a bit and then focusing on every aspect in every corner in super detail.

“The way that he is explaining the problem is a real surprise because he is super fast but with a testing approach that is not so conventional.”

Bezzecchi first marked himself out as a future champion in his sophomore campaign with VR46 in 2023, when he finished third in the championship behind Francesco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin - despite riding a year-old Ducati.

However, his form dipped last year on the GP23 - partly due to the bike not being built to Michelin’s new 2024 tyre -  and he slumped to 12th in the standings, two spots behind his team-mate Fabio di Giannantonio.

Marco Bezzecchi, Aprilia Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images

When Aprilia signed him midway through last year, many questioned the choice given that he was underperforming at the time.

Sterlacchini, who was still at KTM when Aprilia approached Bezzecchi as part of an all-new line-up for 2025, said the Noale-based marque was smart enough to look beyond his results.

“With Marco, it is quite clear that he is a huge talent,” he explained. “We saw in 2022 and 2023, ‘22 as a rookie and ‘23 the first season not being a rookie, he performed in a really outstanding way.

“In this sport, it’s been a quarter of a century since I'm facing this situation. With the riders, sometimes it's a matter of alchemy. It's quite clear that moving from '22 to '23 was OK, but in ‘24, the bike that he had with the ‘24 rear tyre, which Michelin changed, created a sort of mismatch in terms of functionality. 

“So Marco's [2024] season was really tough. But one of the [most] interesting aspects of our job is to see beyond the border and to see something that is not visible from objective facts, and I believe that Aprilia made a really good choice investing and believing in Marco. 

“For sure, there is also one important prerequisite that Marco was in a satellite team of Ducati, he had to ride the bike for his target, not like in the factory team [where a bike is tailor-made for you]. 

“In our situation, somehow we drew the clothes around the needs of Marco. So I believe that these two combinations in terms of alchemy, in the way that the company tried to fix all the problems of Marco, created the result that we are seeing.”

With four rounds remaining, Bezzecchi remains in the hunt for third place in the riders’ standings, with just 20 points separating him and factory Ducati rider Francesco Bagnaia.