Italy celebrates first queen displacement title since Valentino Rossi in 2009 and also Ducati’s first success with a transalpine rider in half a century
Everyone knows Francesco Bagnaia (14/01/1997, Turin) as ‘Pecco’. A nom de guerre that dates back to childhood, as it was the way her older sister, Carola, pronounced her name as children. “No one calls me Francesco anymore. Besides, I don’t respond to that name, nor do I realize that they talk to me when they call me Francesco ». In the paddock, of course, it’s Pecco, because he hasn’t stopped being that famous boy who always escapes to Chivasso, a town near Turin where his parents live and all his friends.
Pecco’s love for motorcycles comes from home. His father was passionate about racing and from an early age he took him to the race tracks with his uncle. It had several Ducati, and from there arose that symbiosis with a brand that the purists in Italy compare with Ferrari, despite not having the glorious past of the ‘Cavallino Rampante’ brand. In fact, Bagnaia’s title is only the Bologna factory’s second in the world championship. He had only previously achieved it with Casey Stoner in 2007, with whom he also shares his current chief mechanic, who was also the Australian in his day.
If Ducati has been slow to repeat its success, the country with the greatest tradition in motorcycling has had to wait even longer to reach another historic milestone. And it is exactly fifty years ago that an Italian rider did not conquer the premier class with an Italian motorcycle. The last was the legendary Giacomo Agostini with MV Agusta in 1972. Therefore, the 2022 title has a special value in a brand deeply rooted in the heart of the ‘tifossi’.
Pecco’s first steps in the competition were with a minibike. He was proclaimed European MiniGP Champion in 2009 and that success ultimately encouraged the Bagnaia family to plunge into the young Pecco’s career. In 2011 and 2012, he took part in the Spanish Speed Championship and finished third both times. It was the previous step to the World Cup, where he made his debut in 2013 without scoring in his premiere year.
It wasn’t that child prodigy who had been making noise since his arrival. In fact, it took him four years to win his first race, already in the Jorge Martínez Aspar team and in his last year in the small category. In 2017 he made the jump to the intermediate category and immediately found his place in the championship. A year later he was proclaimed Moto2 World Champion and secured his future in MotoGP by signing with Ducati.
In the queen class, he debuted in the marque’s satellite structure, Pramac Racing, and with the number 63. It was not his usual number, 21, which stood at the time. He should have changed it to Moto2 already when he picked 42. “I chose it because it was 21+21. I would have loved to go to MotoGP with it, but Álex Rins used it, so I had to choose the 63, which is 42+21». Since landing in MotoGP, he has used another of his mottos that have always accompanied him in the suit. ‘Go free’ and that has a curious origin: ‘I’ve always loved ‘Hakuna Matata’ by The Lion King. One year in Japan, a fan told me ‘Enjoy and go free’ and I really liked it. I never knew who said it and I would like that person to write to me and say ‘it’s me’ because he gave me something that I now always have with me».
He spent two years at Pramac before joining the official team. The Bagnaia explosion started in the second half of last year. After winning his first GP in Aragón in a head-to-head duel with Márquez, he took four wins in the last six races and finished second. He started 2022 with the title contender for the first time, but an erratic start was about to ruin his season. Halfway through the championship he was 91 points behind Quartararo, but from then on he made a spectacular comeback, the biggest in the history of the premier class, to become champion in Valencia, with seven wins, ten podiums, five poles and three fastest laps on his name.
Rossi’s Apprentice
The last title of the tricolor in MotoGP was that of Valentino Rossi in 2009. It has rained heavily since then and while Italy has completed its extraordinary journey in the desert, Spain has won ten of the twelve championships in Spain’s golden age. motorcycling. With Rossi he unites much more than that succession in the plate. Pecco Bagnaia is the crown jewel of the VR46 Academy that Valentino launched ten years ago to support young Italian pilots.
Because of his teacher, he moved to Pesaro, next to the Misano circuit where he trains with the rest of the Academy’s students, creating a bond that goes beyond the professional. And for Pecco, Valentino Rossi is much more than a reference, he is a sports father, therefore he could not miss the celebration of the title of a disciple who is now more than a student, he is a worthy successor.
Source: La Verdad
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