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Don’t Look Now, But Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia Is Mounting a Strong Title Challenge

It seems like it was just yesterday that reigning MotoGP world champion Fabio Quartararo held a massive 91-point lead over Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia, a lead that some have said would be insurmountable.
Ducati Lenovo Team rider Francisco Bagnaia 11 photos
Photo: Ducati Corse / Twitter
Ducati Lenovo Team rider Francisco BagnaiaDucati Lenovo Team rider Francisco BagnaiaDucati Lenovo Team rider Francisco BagnaiaDucati Lenovo Team rider Francisco BagnaiaDucati Lenovo Team rider Francisco BagnaiaDucati Lenovo Team rider Francisco BagnaiaDucati Lenovo Team rider Francisco BagnaiaDucati Lenovo Team rider Francisco BagnaiaDucati Lenovo Team rider Francisco BagnaiaDucati Lenovo Team rider Francisco Bagnaia
Not anymore though. Today, Bagnaia sits just 30 points behind Quartararo after four consecutive wins – Assen, Silverstone, Red Bull Ring and Misano. Despite his excellent form, the Ducati man refuses to consider himself a title challenger just yet, and would rather continue to focus on each individual race.

“30 points is still a lot,” said Bagnaia while discussing the current championship gap between himself and Quartararo. “So, I don’t want to be focused on that, I just want to focus on the work we are doing in all the races in this second part of the season and be smart, understanding the situation and what position we can arrive.”

“Like today [in the race], if I see the possibility to win, I will try always,” he said, as per Motorsport. “But I think we are doing a really good job in terms of working during a weekend because we are always so strong and consistent, and this is a difference from the start of the season.”

When asked about when will he finally consider himself a title contender for 2022, Bagnaia stated: “I will start thinking about the championship when I will be 10, five points away from the leader. In this moment I already made too many mistakes thinking about the championship.”

He then went on to praise his bike, which recently helped him put in his personal best on the very last lap of the race – you don’t see that too often.

“Never in my life have I done my fastest lap on the last lap, which demonstrates we are doing an incredible job I think.”

With six races still left in the 2022 season, both Yamaha and Quartararo should be pretty concerned.
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About the author: Sergiu Tudose
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Sergiu got to experience both American and European car "scenes" at an early age (his father drove a Ford Fiesta XR2 supermini in the 80s). After spending over 15 years at local and international auto publications, he's starting to appreciate comfort behind the wheel more than raw power and acceleration.
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