Marco Bezzecchi remained coy when quizzed on his future plans ahead of this weekend's Italian MotoGP at Mugello, but insists it is his 'dream' in MotoGP is to progress to a factory seat.

However, the Italian - who has emerged as a contender for the 2023 MotoGP title after five rounds and ten races - went on to offer the merest of hints that he isn't prepared to wait around too long for Ducati to potentially one day promote him.

Following a successful rookie campaign with the VR46 Racing team, Bezzecchi is enjoying a breakthrough 2023 season on the year-old Ducati GP22, winning twice in Argentina and France, to sit just a single point behind factory rider Pecco Bagnaia ahead of his home event.

They are performances that have sparked speculation about Bezzecchi's MotoGP future, particularly as opportunities to progress within Ducati are limited by Bagnaia and Enea Bastianini's secure positions in works set-up.

Indeed, Bezzecchi intimates that his 'dream' is to secure a factory ride, but while he adds that doing so with Ducati would be ideal, he is not pinning his hopes on it.

“For the moment, my plan is just to continue in this way and to improve in every race and get some positive results. 

“My dream is to step on a factory bike and if it is Ducati it is better because I know the bike and I feel very good, but at the moment I don’t know what I can do."

The threat of rival approaches for Bezzecchi's services has led VR46 team led Alessio 'Uccio' Salucci to petition Ducati for more official support in order to retain him.

Nevertheless, Bezzecchi says he has never doubted Ducati's commitment to him, even prior to his emergence as a potential title contender in 2023.

“Ducati is working very well and honestly even before they gave me updates, they were supporting me a lot. In Le Mans they helped me quite a lot, so I feel a lot of support from them and I feel very good with them, so I can’t complain."

>>> CLICK HERE for the latest 2023 MotoGP World Championship standings <<<