In Valencia Pecco Bagnaia can fulfill his great dream of winning his first MotoGP World Championship. Then he will begin the arduous coexistence with Enea Bastianini.
Pecco Bagnaia arrives in Valencia with a large lead of 23 points on Fabio Quartararo. Fifteen years later, the Borgo Panigale manufacturer is about to put its hands back on the MotoGP world scepter, after the first and last time signed Casey Stoner. The assault on the leadership seemed postponed to 2023 after the Sachsenring match, with a gap of 91 points between the two contenders that seemed unbridgeable.
Instead, race after race Pecco Bagnaia he grinded victories and podiums, unlike the French Yamaha champion who experienced a vertical descent to the bottom, collecting just two podiums since his return from the summer break. Along his path, the Turin-born Ducati rider had many other rivals to face on the track, in close fights shoulder to shoulder. Starting with Enea Bastianini with whom he will share the Ducati factory garage starting from the Valencia test on November 8, 2022.
Pecco Bagnaia ready for the next challenge
In the stage in Malaysia, Bagnaia’s only real rival was Bastianini, nailed to the exhausts of the factory Red, for three laps in front of his compatriot who, however, had a better pace and was able to make the most of his braking skills. “Two laps to go I slowed down a bit because the rear tire got too hot and I wanted to be able to attack again on the last lap.“, Said the leader of the World. “It worked because I had a good time on the last lap, I also saw that Enea had made a mistake at turn nine“.
Pecco Bagnaia secured the ultimate challenge with Enea Bastianini, but the scenario may soon repeat itself over and over again. From next year they will compete on equal terms and the top management of Borgo Panigale will certainly have a lot to do, because they both want to aim for the MotoGP title. “It will not be easy! But we will have to try to do a good job“, Said the Piedmontese in view of the arrival of the ‘Beast’ in the official box. “Of course, it will be different, compared to now, because he is different. I think in the beginning he will have to adapt to working with all the engineers. So it won’t be easy for him “.
On 8 November Bastianini will wear the red suit of the Lenovo Ducati team for the first time, on the occasion of the Irta test day in Valencia. It will be the first opportunity to try the Desmosedici GP22 and maybe some first updates, even if the bulk of the news will arrive only for next February in Malaysia, when we will witness the first preseason test of 2023. Pecco Bagnaia knows it will be a challenge not easy: “As always, the first person you want to beat is your teammate, and it will be like that throughout the year“.
