Pecco Bagnaia most recently competed in the #1 flat track race «La 100 km dei Campioni». This prestigious starting number has been missing from the MotoGP field for ten years.
The #1 in the premier class has not been seen since Casey Stoner in 2012. In the MotoGP era, apart from the Australian, only Nicky Hayden (2007) and Jorge Lorenzo (2011) decided to flaunt this special start number as defending champions.
After Francesco “Pecco” Bagnaia’s first MotoGP triumph, the question immediately arose as to how the Italian would handle it in 2023. In Valencia, the Ducati factory rider said with a laugh: “Let’s see, but it will be a mess when I have to explain the 21, 42, 63 and everything.”
In fact, Bagnaia has found himself in the starting number dilemma several times: his original championship number 21 was not available in the Moto2 class, which is why he doubled the number and switched to #42. That didn’t turn out to be particularly far-sighted, because in the MotoGP class, the #42 already belonged to Alex Rins. So Bagnaia added 21 to his promotion to the premier class and has competed with the #63 ever since.
At least at the 100 km race of the champions at the Motor Ranch in Tavullia in November, the starting number 63 already made way for the #1.
Colleagues from the Italian sports daily “La Gazzetta dello Sport” asked Bagnaia if this was a harbinger of the 2023 MotoGP season. “I did a test run. I liked #1, but I haven’t decided anything yet,” emphasized Pecco. “I think I’ll make the final decision at the team presentation.”
The Ducati Lenovo presentation will take place in Madonna di Campiglio at the end of January.
MotoGP World Championship final standings 2022 (after 20 races):
1. Bagnaia 265. 2. Quartararo 248 Punkte. 3. Bastianini 219. 4. Aleix Espargaró 212. 5. Miller 189. 6. Brad Binder 188. 7. Rins 173. 8. Zarco 166. 9. Martin 152. 10. Oliveira 149. 11. Viñales 122. 12. Marini 120. 13. Marc Márquez 113. 14. Bezzecchi 111. 15. Mir 87. 16. Pol Espargaró 56. 17. Alex Márquez 50. 18. Nakagami 48. 19. Morbidelli 42. 20. Di Giannantonio 24. 21. Dovizioso 15 22. Raúl Fernández 14. 23. Remy Gardner 13. 24. Darryn Binder 12. 25. Crutchlow 10. 26. Bradl 2.
Constructors’ Championship:
1.Ducati 448 Punkte. 2. Yamaha 256. 3. Aprilia 248. 4. KTM 240. 5. Suzuki 199. 6. Honda 155.
Team World Cup:
1. Ducati Lenovo Team 454 Punkte. 2. Red Bull KTM Factory 337. 3. Aprilia Racing 334. 4. Prima Pramac Racing 318. 5. Monster Energy Yamaha 290. 6. Suzuki Ecstar 260. 7. Gresini Racing 243. 8. Mooney VR46 Racing 231. 9. Repsol Honda 171. 10. LCR Honda 98. 11. WithU Yamaha RNF 37. 12. Tech3 KTM Factory 27.
