Pecco Bagnaia has accumulated four zeros in the first ten races of the 2022 season, three of which were due to his crashes, which led him to arrive in the middle of the championship 91 points behind Fabio Quartararo. However, the Ducati rider enjoyed a record-breaking second half of the season, winning six times and reaching seven wins during the year in total. Despite the fifth zero in Japan, he put an end to Ducati’s 15-year fast by winning the world championship in the last race in Valencia.
Bagnaia had to face a lot of criticism for his mistakes on the track and, as if that weren’t enough, he also found himself in the spotlight during the summer break, when he was involved in a car accident in Ibiza, which resulted in positive for alcohol test. After the world championship victory in Valencia, Motorsport.com asked the Ducati rider if he felt that the criticisms received in 2022 were right and replied: “I accept that someone is not rooting for me because they prefer some other rider, I can understand that”.
“I can also say they were telling the truth, because when you start the season with the pressure to win, you have to show that you have a chance to become world champion. I was losing this chance because I crashed and made many mistakes in many races. The start of the season certainly wasn’t an easy situation, because our bike wasn’t working so well and it took a long time to improve”.
Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
“But already in Portimao I made a big mistake in Q1, I almost broke my collarbone and it was a difficult race. Then in Jerez we had a great race, it was the key to be competitive again, but in Le Mans I crashed again in a stupid way. We were unlucky in Barcelona, but not at the Sachsenring, because I was behind Fabio. I didn’t have to approach the race like that, because I was sure that in the second part of the race the hard tire would have been better. After all these mistakes it is normal to receive criticism, so I accept it, as well as what was said for the Ibiza episode. I accepted everything. I try to improve myself every time and mistakes can happen, but without mistakes you don’t grow”.
Ducati’s sporting director Paolo Ciabatti claims that Bagnaia has shown clear remorse for the Ibiza incident: “We are all human beings and we make mistakes. If we learn the lesson, I think we have to trust a person who has always been respectful in her private life. The worst thing is if you make a mistake and think ‘I got away with this time and I’ll do it again’. But this is not the case. We spoke openly with Pecco about this and he was the first to feel very sorry, he learned his lesson. So I think making a mistake is acceptable if you understand that it’s something you shouldn’t do again. If it happens again, that’s another story.”
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