It takes less than the fingers of one hand to count the riders who were able to win two consecutive world titles in the premier class in the MotoGP era. Pecco Bagnaia succeeded, moreover riding a Ducati. A feat that had not been accomplished by anyone in history. But regardless of the bike he did it with, in this way he managed to pair his name with that of sacred monsters such as Valentino Rossi and Marc Marquez, the only ones to have done a “back to back” since they entered the scene the four times.
If in 2022 to prevail he had to get the better of Fabio Quartararo and a Yamaha in clear technical crisis, in 2023 the mission was decidedly more complicated, because his rival was riding a Desmosedici GP like him and because a very bad man had a hand in it. accident in Barcelona, from which he miraculously emerged only with a bad bruise on his leg which Brad Binder's KTM passed over. But it was an accident that left consequences especially on a mental level for several weekends.
In the end, however, it was he who prevailed over Jorge Martin in the grand finale in Valencia, with his seventh victory of the season arriving in the decisive race. But now it's time to enjoy it after a truly long and intense season and that's what Ducati decided to do with the great “Campioni in Festa” event staged at the Unipol Arena in Bologna, in which Pecco returned to the steps key to this second world championship triumph.
Was this World Cup more difficult or last year's?
“They were different. Last year, at a certain point in the season we had nothing left to lose, because we were at -91. And when you're in that phase of necessarily having to win, it's almost easier for some absurd reason. we won four in a row and we recovered a lot of points, so in the last few races we were also able to allow ourselves to control. This year it was a bit the opposite, because we also reached +66, but then we found ourselves behind in Indonesia It was a difficult situation, especially after Barcelona, but we managed to remain very consistent and in the end that's the most important thing of all. On Sunday we were always the strongest and took home big points. Perhaps this, however, was more nice because I won it with number 1.”
After Barcelona, were you afraid you wouldn't make it? What did you think when you realized that you hadn't done anything serious to yourself anyway?
“It was a complicated moment, not a nice one. The next day I woke up and I was really in pieces. I couldn't really do anything, but we started immediately with rehabilitation to get to racing at Misano, which was only 5 days later We managed for better or worse to qualify for Q2, to start on the front row and make the podium in both races. Then to lose only 14 points against the 37 that could have been. I think that made the difference and that race is was fundamental. Mentally, however, I was no longer able to express myself at 100%, especially in the early stages of the race and in qualifying, so it was a bit complicated to return to the pace I found in the last few races.”
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team
Was there a moment when you thought “I'll win him again, there's no point”?
“I'm very proud, so I thought about it constantly and I wanted it at all costs. I would have found it hard to accept a defeat, but in the end sometimes you have to go down to get back up, because you always learn from every difficulty. And I think this second part of the season was a very important lesson for me and for my entire team.”
At the first race this year was there the pressure of having to win because you were champion?
“Actually, no, but it was a perfect weekend: I didn't get pole, but I won both the Sprint and the long race. However, Portimao is a track that suits me well, I've always been fast. It's a shame about the pole, because It would have been nice to start again with that too. But we can be satisfied.”
The answer is quite obvious, but do you prefer the Sprint or the long race?
“The long race. Let's say that the Sprint was a bit complicated for me from Barcelona onwards, because up to that point I had won four anyway. In the second part it limited me a bit and in those in which we could have been competitive we We made a wrong choice of tire or we had problems with the tyre. However, I always preferred Sunday's race.”
Are you already thinking about next year or do you want to rest now?
“There's time for next year, but now there's a lot of time for tennis and 'call of duty' (laughs).”
How strong can the motivation be to repeat yourself and maybe even beat Marc Marquez with your own bike?
“I think he will definitely be one more opponent. He will be very fast, but he has already been so during the tests. Obviously he was able to seek full performance, also doing the time attack to fully discover the new bike. In my opinion he was very good and very fast. But that's what I would have expected from him, also because he got off a difficult bike and got on the best there is. It will be a good fight, but not only with him, because we must not forget Bezzecchi, Bastianini, Martin , Morbidelli: they will all be fast with the Ducati.”
What is the quality that you would steal from Martin and Bezzecchi?
“I would certainly steal from Jorge the explosiveness he manages to have at the start of the match. From Bez instead, the tenacity he manages to have in certain difficult moments.”
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