MotoGP: Why Francesco Bagnaia deserves the Factory Ducati
Francesco Bagnaia deserves the factory Ducati and here is why.
Currently, Francesco Bagnaia and Johann Zarco are locked in a contract battle for the factory Ducati seat, both riders have a single podium to their name but Bagnaia will get the bike over Zarco, the reasons for this may be clearer than you think.
Francesco Bagnaia is having a fantastic second MotoGP season with his first front-row start in Andalusia, he was then running in podium positions during the race before he had a mechanical issue which took him out of the race meaning his dream debut MotoGP podium would have to wait… until his home race, the dream for any rider, your first podium at your home race joined by one of your good friends from the VR46 riders academy.
At the Brno MotoGP race this season, Francesco Bagnaia crashed in FP1, breaking his leg, causing him to miss the Brno and two Austrian races, just after he had his career-best MotoGP race before his bike broke down. This was a nightmare for Bagnaia but also did him a lot of good mentally, Bagnaia had to sit at home for three races and watch Michele Pirro ride his bike and Johann Zarco stand on the podium at Brno, motivating Bagnaia more than ever.
The Italian rider carried this momentum to his home race where he was able to come back from eighth place during the race to second place, even overtaking his boss Valentino Rossi to finish behind Franco Morbidelli, this result with a broken leg has impressed many and most importantly Ducati. This work ethic to be able to come back from injury and put your bike on the podium whilst on crutches is not something to be ignored, imagine if he was at full fitness? We could’ve witnessed a first race win.
There is so much more in the locker too, Bagnaia is in a better place than Zarco due to the fact that he is only 23 years old and in his second MotoGP season on a Ducati, he has so much more to learn and can be taken under the wing by Ducati and moulded into the ‘perfect’ Ducati rider.
This is not to forget his nationality, Italian. Ducati are a proud brand, they love their heritage and they love being Italian and will put an Italian on their bikes wherever possible which is a major help to Bagnaia.
His results are much better than Zarco’s also, Zarco leads Bagnaia in the standings by just 2 points, despite Bagnaia only finishing 2/7 races and Zarco finishing 6/7, meaning that given 2/3 more races, it is more than likely that Bagnaia will be much higher than Zarco in the MotoGP standings if he can keep this momentum going the way he has been, performing at not just Misano but Jerez too.
The work ethic, plus consistent results and age all play majorly into the hand of Bagnaia, why would they want to look anywhere else when they have the best man to link up with Jack Miller at the factory team, especially considering that Miller and Bagnaia are currently teammates, so keeping them together would be smart by Ducati as they already can play ideas off of each other and share data, already knowing about how the other rider works and rides, so in the factory team the pair will be able to continue doing so, improving the bike.
Featured image – www.motogp.com
