‘Pecco has the talent’
■ Factory ride, factory pressure, it’s time for him to deliver
‘He will come into 2021 with more confidence than ever’
VR46 Academy member Francesco Bagnaia follows Jack Miller into the factory Ducati team after spending the last two years with Pramac. To some, his promotion won’t be seen to be as positive as Miller’s was given he finished 16th in 2020, but to his credit Bagnaia did showcase glimpses of his potential last year. The Italian started the year valiantly and despite breaking his leg at Brno he was able to return, on crutches, and score his maiden podium at Misano 1. The following weekend he was closing in on victory only to crash with a few laps remaining. A heart-breaking moment which led to a decline in positive results. Bagnaia failed to finish four of the final seven races and only finished inside the top 10 on one occasion.
Therein lies the overarching issue with Bagnaia’s MotoGP career so far: He’s failed to finish 12 of his 29 races. He even endured a four-race DNF streak in 2019.
This cannot continue now that the 24-year-old is a fully-fledged factory Ducati rider. The bosses in Bologna simply won’t tolerate disappointing results, just ask Jorge Lorenzo and Danilo Petrucci. However, as previously noted, there were glimpses of real hope and ability from Bagnaia last season. He made it onto the frontrow for the first time and walked up those steps to the podium as well. Sure, the win slipped away but he will come into 2021 with more confidence than ever before. He’s been chosen by to represent Ducati and isn’t far off a race win. Bagnaia has the talent and the speed, we know this because he’s a Moto2 world champion, but he now needs to take things to the next level whilst also being on the receiving end of some luck.