Bagnaia: “I think we deserve this title” 

Arriving in Valencia, Francesco Bagnaia had a 23-point lead overall over his rival fabio quartararo. If the latter won, he only needed two small points to ensure the coronation. 

On paper, nothing insurmountable for the man who grabbed more than 90 points from the championship leader, but in reality, the Italian had a trying weekend. “I’m very happy,” he first declared. After the worst race of the season, I was able to enjoy it. As I crossed the finish line, I saw on my pitboard that I was world champion. From there, everything was lighter (…) It wasn't easy, because after my fight with Fabio, I lost a wing and from that moment on, it was a nightmare. I tried to stay on a defensive trajectory, but it was complicated. It took a long time to finish the race. I'm proud of my team, of myself and what we've accomplished, it's incredible. »

13 years later, @PeccoBagnaia bring the #MotoGP title back to Italy 🔙🇮🇹@ValeYellow46 and the Ducati rider shared a special moment after the #ValenciaGP ❤️ pic.twitter.com/kP8PuXdrly

— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) November 6, 2022

The season has not been easy for Bagnaia, who still has no less than five blank results. After the German GP, ​​he was 91 lengths behind Quartararo. “Half an hour or an hour after the race at Sachsenring, I no longer believed in the title,” he confided. But I knew there was still a chance to be world champion. Honestly, the work we have done this year has been incredible. We performed extremely well in the second half of the season. We also tried to find a way to progress, to analyze the reasons for my falls, my mistakes. I'm happy and I think we deserve this title. »

And regarding his blunder in Germany, Bagnaia added. “I was competitive like at Le Mans. I was there, with the possibility of winning the race, but I crashed. I then recognized that I was a driver with ups and downs, with good speed, but not consistent enough. Accepting this was not easy. I admitted I had a problem. I tried to improve. I thank the people at home who accompanied me and who helped me a lot, even today. I think I made a lot of progress on myself this year. »

15 years of waiting

In addition to being the first Italian world champion in the premier category since Valentino Rossi in 2009, Bagnaia is also the first Ducati rider to win the title since Casey Stoner in 2007, 15 years ago. An accomplishment for Bagnaia who had to deal with the pressure and hopes of an entire factory. “I saw a lot of crying faces, it was incredible,” he smiled. I was crying too. It's an awesome win. I felt this weight on my shoulders to once again offer this title to my team, to Ducati, and to Italy. It wasn't easy. I spoke with Vale (Valentino Rossi, editor's note), and he told me to be proud of this possibility, not everyone can experience this feeling. It's true that you feel the pressure, the nervousness, the fear, but you have to be proud and happy, try to enjoy. I tried to follow his advice... it didn't work (laughs), but I'm happy to think who is our mentor, our leader..."

A nine-star mentor 

In order to allow Italy to regain its splendor and prepare for the future, Valentino Rossi, nine-time world champion, created the VR46 Riders Academy in 2013, the aim of which was to develop a sector leading to MotoGP. 

Among the Academy's representatives in MotoGP are Bagnaia, Luca Marini, half-brother of Valentino Rossi, Marco Bezzecchi and Franco Morbidelli. The latter also finished vice-world champion in 2020, but it was Bagnaia who made his mentor's dream come true. “It’s not just the influence of Valentino, but also of everyone who works for us,” he stressed about the importance of this sector for his career. At first it was a different academy. She was a big help, for sure, but today I think we are very professional. We have everything...if I need to go pocket bike on a circuit, they take care of organizing everything (…) they give us their life, their passion. This is the Academy's first title and the third overall (with that of Bagnaia in 2018 and Morbidelli the previous year in Moto2, editor's note), but if we analyze the performances of all the riders in MotoGP, we can clearly see that all of them are incredibly fast. We push each other. When I look at Franco, 2020 vice-champion with three victories and podiums, it was a performance to improve or beat. It helped me a lot to progress. I would like to thank the Academy. »