Bagnaia crashed out of the lead of the MotoGP Gra🍌nd Prix of the America🐬s, also costing himself the lead in the championship.

It was a disastrous reminder of last s𓄧eason when Bagnaia failed to finish five times, although he recovered to claim a maiden title.

“I’m a big fan of his, he’s very fast and he pushes hard,” MotoGP legend Rain🐻ey, a thr🍌ee-time champion, said.

“Sometimes I kn🃏ow he falls, but what he did last year? To come from so far back in the points to charge and win all those🌱 races…

“He has taken that Ducati and is getting everything he can out of💞 it. He has the factory seat, so if there is any advantage from the equipment, I think he has ♍the best package.

“But the🐓re are a lot of good riders out there. There are🌸 a lot of good Ducatis.

“Bastianini is coming - ‘The Beast’! He wants to show that ‘I need to be the guy’🅰.

“It wi♏ll be a good rivalry as it unfol🌸ds. Then there is everybody else.

“He wi🔯ll feel the pressure, there will be a lot of riders nipping at him. It will be fun to watch.”

Bagnaia’s factory ♕Ducati teammate Bastianini is expected to make his return from injury at the fourth round in Jerez on April 30.

💦His step-up from Gresini to the factory team got off to the most unfortunate possible start when, in the first-ever sprint race which Bagnaia won, Bastianini was wiped out by a fellow Ducati rider, Luca Marini.

He avoided surgery on a broken shoulder blade but has missed all three grands prix as a result, and is stuck on zero points⭕, 64 b𒈔ehind championship leader Marco Bezzecchi.

The rivalry between the two fac💃tory Ducati riders was a key theme heading into 2023 but, due to Bastianini’s early crash, it hasn’t yet begun.

Now Bastianini is set to return 🧜at a time when Bagnaia may feel at his most vulnerable, after a seemingly unforced crash in America.