Francesco Bagnaia successfully defended his MotoGP world title this year with a 39-point advantage over Jorge Martín (Pramac Ducati). However, it wasn’t an easy ride for the Ducati rider.
The season kicked off with a double win at the Portuguese GP, where the Italian dominated both the Sprint race and the main race. These results hinted at Bagnaia’s potential dominance, but in Argentina, things took a different turn. While leading the main race, the #1 rider crashed, finishing only 16th: ‘I made a mistake. I was thinking that this year I was a better rider, more precise, without making mistakes, doing things better and in the second race of the year I already crashed, and that is something that makes me very angry’, he said at the time.
The situation didn’t improve much at the Americas GP, where Bagnaia once again crashed while leading, losing many points again. At the time, he admitted that something was wrong after two incidents in three races: ‘It’s true that our bike is the best, we have the best bike on the grid, but if you crash and you don’t know why, it’s no use, because we lost 45 points in two weekends. So we have to understand that’.
Pecco’s response was immediate, clinching victory at the Spanish GP… followed by another retirement, this time in France. In the first five main races, he failed to score points in three, yet he left Le Mans topping the championship by just one point over Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team/Ducati). From then on, almost everything was perfect.
Starting from the double win at the Italian GP, Francesco Bagnaia missed the podium in main races only twice: he crashed spectacularly at the Catalan GP due to a highside, and he also crashed out at the Indian GP. During this period, he secured five wins in Grand Prix races and two in Sprint races. In Austria, he had his maximum lead in the championship, 62 points ahead.
The violent highside at Catalunya raised fears about the conclusion of Bagnaia’s season, but the truth is he escaped severe injuries and, a few days later, stood on the podium at the San Marino GP. Recently, the rider revealed to the MotoGP website: ‘It was one of the hardest, toughest moments of my career. The day after Barcelona I woke up and I was destroyed, completely. I couldn’t even move from the bed’.
The other moment of Bagnaia’s wavering was at the Indian GP, leaving the race with only a 13-point lead over Martín. The Spaniard even led the championship after the Sprint race of the Indonesian GP. Bagnaia then won the main race, taking full control of the championship.
After finishing eighth in the Sprint race at Mandalika, the Italian began a strong final sequence, with three second-place finishes, one third-place finish, and a win in the last five main races. Moreover, he only finished outside the top five once in a Sprint race. Meanwhile, Martín went through a more troubled period, with just one podium in the main race.
In total, Bagnaia renewed his 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 championship
Argentina GP: 6th Sprint/16th GP – 2nd in the championship
Americas GP: 1st Sprint/DNF GP – 2nd in the championship
Spanish GP: 2nd Sprint/1st GP – 1st in the championship
French GP: 3rd Sprint/DNF GP – 1st in the championship
Italian GP: 1st Sprint/1st GP – 1st in the championship
German GP: 2nd Sprint/2nd GP – 1st in the championship
Netherlands GP: 2nd Sprint/1st GP – 1st in the championship
British GP: 14th Sprint/2nd GP – 1st in the championship
Austrian GP: 1st Sprint/1st GP – 1st in the championship
Catalan GP: 2nd Sprint/DNS GP – 1st in the championship
San Marino GP: 3rd Sprint/3rd GP – 1st in the championship
Indian GP: 2nd Sprint/DNF GP – 1st in the championship
Japanese GP: 3rd Sprint/2nd GP – 1st in the championship
Indonesian GP: 8th Sprint/1st GP – 1st in the championship
Australian GP: 2nd GP (no Sprint race) – 1st in the championship
Thai GP: 7th Sprint/2nd GP – 1st in the championship
Malaysian GP: 3rd Sprint/3rd GP – 1st in the championship
Qatar GP: 5th Sprint/2nd GP – 1st in the championship
Valencia GP: 5th Sprint/1st GP – 1st in the championship