The Borgo Panigale company is experiencing one of the most important moments in its history: everything seems ready to allow Pecco Bagnaia to conquer the second MotoGP title in the company’s history next Sunday in Valencia, 15 years after the one celebrated by Casey Stoner in 2007.
The Turin driver’s undertaking would be historic, especially if we consider that to do so he reduced the gap from Fabio Quartararo, who held the leadership until two rounds ago (Australia), by 91 points.
However, in a scenario of this magnitude for the Italian brand, a discordant element has crept in that has sparked comments on the alleged help received by Pecco to reach the title. A situation that Ducati does not like.
After Bagnaia’s last victory in Sepang, where he won by just three tenths of a second over Enea Bastianini, there are those who insinuated that the Gresini driver could have won the race, and that he didn’t do it to allow his future teammate to increase his margin over Quartararo, now set at 23 points.
If that were true, the Rimini player would have deliberately gone against his own interests, given that at that moment he still had a mathematical possibility, however minimal, of becoming champion. With the title out of the question, “Bestia” now competes with “El Diablo” and Aleix Espargaro for second place, even if the gap in favor of the Yamaha rider (23 points over the Spaniard and 24 over Bastianini) gives him the role of favorite.
At Ducati they cannot control external speculations, but what is displeasing in the office is that the instability comes from theoretically friendly trenches.
“In a normal situation, Enea would have tried to overtake on the last lap to win the race,” said Carlo Pernat, manager of the Rimini driver, when the race ended in Malaysia. “Who knows if it would have caused a disaster, we won’t know, but he made the decision not to take that risk,” added the controversial agent, implying that his client followed the factory’s orders, which is why he didn’t compete. for victory.
Francesco Bagnaia, Equipo Ducati, Enea Bastianini, Gresini Racing
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
In Borgo Panigale, these claims were a terrible thing to hear. “From what the rider said at the end of the race, and from the data we collected, we know that Enea couldn’t win in Malaysia,” a Ducati source told motorsport.com. “Pernat knows this too, but now he wants to make money by sowing doubts,” he said.
With over half a century of activity, the man who looks after Bastianini’s interests is one of the best-known managers in the paddock, above all because he is more mediatic than anyone else. At Ducati, most executives agree in suspecting that “Carletto” is trying to get his client to receive the agreed bonus for third place, even if in the end it should be Espargaro who gets it.
“He is playing his cards badly, he will not get anything, he will receive the relative financial compensation only if he reaches the goal indicated in the contract”, adds the same person from the box of the Red.
“Now it’s all a question of money. The brand should guarantee us the prize for third place, because the difference if we finish fourth is considerable, and it’s not just about the contract with Ducati, but also about the sponsors. If we don’t finish third, why is it? Enea was cautious with Pecco in Malaysia, we will lose a lot of money “, Pernat insisted.
Bastinini is already running the 2023 World Cup
In Ducati the manager’s maneuvers were not liked and will act accordingly. But the executives believe that the “worst” will come next season, when the # 23 will join the factory team as Bagnaia’s box neighbor. The relationship between the two drivers is better than you can imagine; we will see how the situation will evolve when they compete to become the top man of the structure to fight for a new championship.
The clearest maneuver in this direction took place on Aragon Sunday. There, Bagnaia led 22 of the 23 laps planned, but on the last lap Bastianini overtook him and beat him by 42 thousandths of a second. “If there were really the team orders and the will to help him, with the five points from Aragon, Pecco would already be champion today”, the Ducati source reminded those who wrote these lines.
Jorge Lorenzo and Andrea Dovizioso in the 2018 Italian Grand Prix
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
In Bologna there is a bit of concern. Since 2018, when it was decided not to renew Jorge Lorenzo’s contract, the sports management has made two clear decisions to change course: to reduce the drivers’ salary to concentrate resources on the development of prototypes and restore peace to a garage that , first with Andrea Iannone and Andrea Dovizioso and then with the arrival of Lorenzo, he went through a prolonged period of turbulence.
The arrival of Danilo Petrucci calmed things down, and the two years of coexistence between Bagnaia and Jack Miller were something that undoubtedly contributed to the sweet moment of the team.
“Enea is a very fast rider and next season he will be a clear contender for the title,” admitted Ducati manager Davide Tardozzi on Sunday at Sepang, making it clear that the team will give its two riders the freedom to fight for the championship.
For months Bagnaia has been lobbying Ducati to renew Miller, who will eventually lose his bike to Bastianini, the only top Italian rider not in force at the VR46 Riders Academy. “Enea will have to learn to work in a factory team, as I had to do”, warned the number 63.
The scenario that lies ahead for Ducati in 2023 has some similarities with that experienced by Yamaha in 2008, when Lorenzo arrived in the garage then managed by Valentino Rossi, and which made rivers of ink flow. “I didn’t deserve a fast teammate like Lorenzo after everything I had done for Yamaha,” recalled the number 46 when he retired fifteen years later.
Bagnaia will almost certainly be world champion in Valencia. If he succeeds, he will become the first Italian to win the title on an Italian motorcycle since Giacomo Agostini did it with MV Agusta in 1972. Pecco’s great dream (25) is to take the place of the great Italian champions, Agostini and Rossi. Bastianini has set himself the same goal and the rider from Rimini knows that the battle to become the leader of Ducati in 2023 has already begun.
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