Bagnaia, first rider to successfully defend number 1 in MotoGP

Showing up with such a sticker under the handlebars is actually quite unusual in the discipline, since only Jorge Lorenzo, in 2011, and the American Nicky Hayden, in 2007, have done so since the start of the MotoGP era. , in addition to Bagnaia and Stoner.

Last year the Ducati rider also hesitated to rule out the possibility of swapping his number 63 for the plate reserved for the world champion.

“It’s hard to choose, he said after the pre-season test in Valencia, which concluded the year 2022. I have to think about it because not everyone can wear number 1. But wearing number 1 puts a lot of pressure on you. I've always been fascinated by drivers who wore number 1, so we'll see. »

At this " pressure " that the Italian mentioned, there is obviously added a commercial factor, which concerns in particular all the merchandising linked to each person's number, which is no longer relevant during a change.

Bagnaia finally managed to decide in favor of his current number. A decision which can be explained by the little attachment he had to the number 63. It is in fact not the one he had initially chosen when he entered the world championship: he wore number 21 in Moto3, then 42 in Moto2 because 21 was already taken. Both were also already worn in MotoGP, he added 42 and 21 to arrive at 63, and thus stick it to the front of his Ducati.

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