Francesco Bagnaia on Ducati early days: “I was scared coming into factory team, there were rumours…”
Two years later Bagnaia has delivered the famous Italian brand its first MotoGP champion since 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Casey Stoner in 2007, and will begin his title defen🦋ce this season as a big favourite to take home the top prize again.
But his early call-up from Pramac in 2021 - Bagnaia and 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Jack Miller replaced Dovizi𝄹oso, who fell out with Ducat🐷i, and Danilo Petrucci - was no guarantee of success.
“When I arrived in the factory team I was a bit scared, because the rumours were not the best,” he told Sky𝓰.
“But I must say that since I entered, also thanks to Jack Miller, we managed to create a fantastic atmosphere in the garage, we lived 🌌peꩵacefully.
“I am sure that with [new teammate] 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Enea Bastianini we will do the same, it will be꧋ tough because we are both there to win, but we are intelligent and we know very well that working together will lead us to stay in front.”
Bagnaia crashed five times and found himself 91 points behind leader 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Fabio Quartararo&nbs🥀p;last season before mounting the 🤪largest-ever comeback to become champion.
"I am an extremely ambitious and determined person, I knew ꦐit would be very difficult,” he reflected.
“Usually when you are in the⛦ middle of the season with that gap you think it's over, but in the end half an hour after the S🏅achsenring race I recovered, I believed in it again.
“There was a very important meeting before Assen, where we drew a line a bit🤪 and started from scratch: it was fundamental for this result, as [Ducati management] and as Enea said we are a very united team.”
Ahead of the preseason 𓂃Sepang offici𓆉al test, it is expected that the Desmosedici will be the best piece of machinery on the 2023 grid. A year ago, this was not the case.
"At the beginning we had a bit of complicatio𓆉ns with the new bike, we couldn't make it go like the one of 2021", Bagn🌸aia said.
“Too many news compared to the previous year, therefo𝔍re, something th൩at we will hardly see even in 2023.
"When we accepted o♏ur mi💝stakes we took a huge step forward, as well as an incredible job with what we had.
“I threw away many points for my mistakes♏, but I am always of the idea that without making mistakes you do not learn. And I think I learned a lot last year and this allowed us to r🧸un an incredible season in which everything worked at its best. We brought home the maximum and I'm very proud."
Bagnღaia won the season at the final round in Valencia, the first Italian rider to become champion since his hero Valent𒈔ino Rossi, who notoriously failed at Ducati, in 2009.
"It was a very long day, it 🌼didn't end,” Bagnaia 🙈said. “The race also, endless.
“But in the end I tried to enjoy it, because I knew it would lead us to the dream, that of my life and of Ducati, as well as of Valentino Rossi'ไs Academy which won its first MotoGP title.
“I knew that all this was behind me and it was very ꦡheavy, but as soon as I crossed the finish line I thought I had made it, a fantastic moment. I hope there are many more, but having one a🦂lready makes me happy."
James was a sports journa🐽list at Sky Sports🃏 for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
