2023 season for Francesco Bagnaia: Rocky start, ending with a new title

Francesco Bagnaia managed to renew his MotoGP world title this year with a 39-point advantage over Jorge Martín (Prima Pramac/Ducati). But don’t be fooled into thinking it was a “walk in the park” for the Ducati rider.

A época começou com duplo triunfo no GP de Portugal, em que o italiano dominou a corrida Sprint e também a corrida principal. Resultados que deixavam antever um domínio de Bagnaia, mas logo a seguir na Argentina ficou à vista que as coisas poderiam não ser assim tão fáceis. Quando disputava a vitória na corrida principal, o #1 sofreu uma queda e ficou apenas em 16.º: ‘Cometi um erro. Estava a pensar que este ano era um piloto melhor, mais preciso, sem cometer erros […] e na segunda corrida do ano já caí, e isso é algo que me deixa muito irritado’.

THE WORLD CHAMP HAS CRASHED OUT! 😱@PeccoBagnaia has THROWN AWAY 20 points! 💥#ArgentinaGP 🇦🇷 pic.twitter.com/XDuSEOlrQl

— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) April 2, 2023

The panorama didn’t improve much at the Americas GP, where once again Bagnaia crashed while leading, losing a lot of points again. At the time, he admitted that something was wrong after two incidents in three races: ‘The bike is perfect, but if you fall and lose 45 points in two weekends, something is not perfect’.

Pecco’s reaction was not long in coming, with the victory at the Spanish GP… followed by another retirement, this time in France. In the first five main races, he didn’t score in three, but still left Le Mans at the top of the championship with one more point than Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team/Ducati). And from then on, almost everything was perfect.

From the double triumph at the Italian GP, Francesco Bagnaia only missed the podium in main races two more times: he crashed due to a spectacular highside at the Catalunya GP and also crashed and didn’t finish at the India GP. During this same period, he achieved five wins in Grand Prix and two in Sprint races. In Austria, he had his maximum points advantage in the championship lead: 62 points.

The Lord of the Red Bull Ring! 🐂@PeccoBagnaia is once again the 🔝 Scorer of the weekend thanks to his Saturday and Sunday victories! 🥇🥇#AustrianGP 🇦🇹 pic.twitter.com/7zNCvzbQ0T

— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) August 22, 2023

The violent highside in Catalunya made fears for the worst outcome of Bagnaia’s season, but the truth is that he escaped serious injuries and, a few days later, he was on the podium at the San Marino GP. Recently, the rider revealed to the MotoGP website: ‘It was one of the toughest, most complicated moments of my career. The day after Barcelona I woke up and I was destroyed, completely. I couldn’t even move from bed‘.

Another angle of Pecco Bagnaia crash.#peccobagnaia pic.twitter.com/Urje8tw6yc

— Motorcycle Sports (@MotorcycleSp) September 3, 2023

The other moment when Bagnaia faltered was at the India GP, leaving that race with only a 13-point lead over Martín. The Spanish rider even led the World Championship after the Sprint race of the Indonesian GP. Bagnaia then won the main race and definitively took the lead in the championship. After finishing eighth in the Mandalika Sprint race, the Italian started a strong final sequence, with three second places, a third, and a victory in the last five main races. Moreover, he only finished outside the top five in one Sprint race. Meanwhile, Martín went through a more troubled period, with only one podium in the main races. All in all, Bagnaia renewed the MotoGP title with 467 points, 39 more than Martín. In the main races alone, Pecco scored 327 points, a clear improvement compared to the 265 points that led him to the title last year.

Francesco Bagnaia’s Season:

Portuguese GP: 1st Sprint/1st GP – 1st in the World Championship
Argentinian GP: 6th Sprint/16th GP – 2nd in the World Championship
American GP: 1st Sprint/Retirement GP – 2nd in the World Championship
Spanish GP: 2nd Sprint/1st GP – 1st in the World Championship
French GP: 3rd Sprint/Retirement GP – 1st in the World Championship
Italian GP: 1st Sprint/1st GP – 1st in the World Championship
German GP: 2nd Sprint/2nd GP – 1st in the World Championship
Dutch GP: 2nd Sprint/1st GP – 1st in the World Championship
British GP: 14th Sprint/2nd GP – 1st in the World Championship
Austrian GP: 1st Sprint/1st GP – 1st in the World Championship
Catalan GP: 2nd Sprint/Did not start GP – 1st in the World Championship
San Marino GP: 3rd Sprint/3rd GP – 1st in the World Championship
Indian GP: 2nd Sprint/Retirement GP – 1st in the World Championship
Japanese GP: 3rd Sprint/2nd GP – 1st in the World Championship
Indonesian GP: 8th Sprint/1st GP – 1st in the World Championship
Australian GP: 2nd GP (no Sprint race) – 1st in the World Championship
Thai GP: 7th Sprint/2nd GP – 1st in the World Championship
Malaysian GP: 3rd Sprint/3rd GP – 1st in the World Championship
Qatari GP: 5th Sprint/2nd GP – 1st in the World Championship
Valencian GP: 5th Sprint/1st GP – 1st in the World Championship