INTERVIEW I 2022 MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPION FRANCESCO BAGNAIA
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as Bagnaia cut a largely exas-
perated figure through the first
five grands prix. His polite, pa-
tient demeanor was replaced by
moody dealings with the media.
The reasons behind this less-
than-perky Pecco were glaringly
apparent: Ducati had ended
2021 in a tremendous position
of strength, dominating the final
race by locking out the front row
and podium for the first time
in history. That followed with a
positive test at Jerez, where Ba-
gnaia proclaimed, "The old bike
was perfect already, and we are
improving this perfect bike."
But what arrived at the Sepang
test in February was far from his—
or any of the four other riders
on the GP22—liking. The engine
was too peaky and aggressive.
It offered little of the front-end
stability in braking for which its
predecessor was famed. And
it seemed that the incessant
tinkering of Gigi Dall'Igna, Ducati
Corse's General Manager, had
gone too far. Yes, the ride-height
device, first introduced in 2019,
that lowered the rear of the bike
Fellow VR46 Academy graduate and close
friend Franco Morbidelli shadows Bagnaia in
the final laps of the Valencian finale.
Bagnaia greets fiancé Domizia
Castagnini after a hectic battle with
Bastianini in Malaysia.
