Cristian Gabarrini, Pecco Bagnaia’s chief technician, remembers Casey Stoner’s golden years and dreams of an encore world champion with Ducati.
Pecco Bagnaia and Casey Stoner they have a lot in common, not just the exchange of messages and phone calls before the Grand Prix. In the 2021 season finale, the former rider returned to the MotoGP paddock after a few years and his concern went mainly to what they were doing in the Ducati garage. He dispensed useful advice on a par with a technician, taking photos and videos from the village track, looking for the wild card to file a few tenths on the lap.
After the San Marino stage on 4 September 2022, the Italian rider even surpassed a Casey Stoner record, winning the fourth consecutive race in spite of the Australian champion’s three in a row, signed in the 2007 and 2008 seasons. chief engineer Cristian Gabarrini who does not dare to compare the two champions, while underlining some external differences. “Casey didn’t have such a competitive bike – he told the Spanish newspaper ‘Marca’ -. This does not mean that I want to underestimate Pecco’s victories, quite the contrary. This is a victory for everyone, for Ducati, for those in the pits and those at home“.
Bagnaia and Stoner parallel destinies
It is difficult, impossible which of the two has more talent. On the other hand, the career of Pecco Bagnaia it is still in the midst of years and the world titles will also count for historical judgments. For now he has only won one in Moto2, Stoner has two titles, both won in MotoGP (one with Ducati in 2007 the other with Honda in 2011). Casey Stoner had to deal with Valentino Rossi, Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa. He bathes with a thicker and fiercer lineup of rivals, at an unprecedented level of competitiveness.
In practice or qualifying sessions we sometimes find the top ten riders collected in a few tenths of a second. “Winning four races in a row, on four completely different circuits, is something to be appreciated“, Added Cristian Gabarrini. But Fabio Quartararo remains in command, already world champion with Yamaha last season. “Right now Fabio is on another level… compared to the other Yamaha riders. Maybe Fabio and Pecco are on the same level, they are off series right now“.
Without at least one of those four “zeros” collected in the first part of the championship it would be completely different, but i Grand Prix they are also made up of falls and retreats. The crew chief believes in the dream, like the whole team. “It’s not that far off in terms of points if we look at what it was like three or four races ago (from 91 to 30 points of gap, ed). Who could have guessed it? I work with numbers and have been here for a long time, I know that in a short time it can get closer or further away. It all remains to be decided“.
