Francesco Bagnaia has been a regular rider in MotoGP since 2019. 96 Grand Prix races and 25 sprints have been held since his promotion to the premier class, and Bagnaia was unable to start four times due to injury. This means that he has taken part in 121 races so far, in which he has not seen the finish flag a whopping 27 times.
He rolled out three times due to a technical defect, and four times other drivers collided with him. But Bagnaia crashed 20 times, like on Saturday in Barcelona, without any outside influence. That’s a rate of almost 26 percent. We take a look back at Bagnaia’s most hair-raising slip-ups.
Emilia Romagna GP 2020
At his home race in Misano, Bagnaia has the chance to take his first MotoGP victory. He controls the action at the front on the Pramac team’s customer Ducati until the 21st of 27 laps and is 1.1 seconds ahead of Maverick Vinales. But then he crashes in turn six and is out of the race. Bagnaia cannot explain his fall and suspects external influences such as a broken tear-off visor as the cause of the crash. The first MotoGP victory is definitely gone and Bagnaia has to wait 20 more races before he stands at the top of the podium in the premier class for the first time in Aragon in 2021.
Italian GP 2021
In 2021, Bagnaia has the chance to win his first MotoGP race again on Italian soil. He immediately takes the lead in Mugello from second place on the grid, but his race only lasts one and a half laps. In Arrabiatta 2, Bagnaia comes a little too far to the outside, slides over the kerb and destroys his Ducati. Just before the MotoGP race, a minute’s silence was held for Moto3 rider Jason Dupasquier, who died a few hours earlier after an accident on Saturday. A situation that Bagnaia did not feel up to. “It was impossible to keep my concentration. If it had been up to me, there would have been no race today,” he said after his fall.
Emilia Romagna GP 2021
Bagnaia crashes again in Italy. This time the crash is particularly costly. The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix is the third-to-last race weekend of the season and before it Bagnaia is 52 points behind Fabio Quartararo in the world championship. The Ducati man leads the race from the start and is on course to make up a lot of points on Quartararo. In the 23rd of 27 race laps, however, Bagnaia’s dream of becoming a world champion is shattered in turn 15. He slides over the front wheel and is out of the race, making Quartararo world champion.
Qatar GP 2022
Despite missing out on the 2021 world championship title, Bagnaia is going into the 2022 MotoGP season as the big favorite for overall victory, having won four of the last six races last year. The new season is starting very badly for Bagnaia, however. He crashes in turn one of the Qatar GP and also drags his Ducati colleague Jorge Martin to his doom. Both riders are eliminated.
French GP 2022
Le Mans is the first time that the current colleagues in the Ducati factory team have a duel. Bagnaia sets the pace in the race, but Enea Bastianini forces him out on lap 21, first with a slight braking error and then a few corners later into a crash and the resulting retirement. Instead of a win or a safe second place, Bagnaia is left empty-handed, while Bastianini wins.
German GP 2022
Bagnaia arrives at the Sachsenring 66 points behind Fabio Quartararo. The race weekend in Germany goes according to plan for him for a long time. He puts his Ducati in pole position and duels with Quartararo for the lead in the starting phase. On the fourth lap, however, Bagnaia slips in turn one and is out of the race. The victory goes to rival Quartararo and the gap in the World Championship grows to 91 points. Bagnaia’s eventual successful comeback in the title fight seems unthinkable at this point.
Japanese GP 2022
In the previous races, Bagnaia has reduced his deficit to Quartararo from 91 to ten points. On the last lap, ‘Pecco’ wants to make up more points in a direct duel with his World Championship rival, but makes a mistake when braking at Turn 3 and falls once again. Zero points for Bagnaia and eight points for Quartararo, who now has some breathing room four races before the end of the season.
Argentina GP 2023
Bagnaia’s sensational comeback in the 2022 MotoGP season finally brought him the overall world championship victory. He got off to an optimal start in his mission to defend his title in Portimao, winning both the sprint and the main race and leaving Portugal with the maximum of 37 points. But on the second race weekend in Argentina, the world champion fell back into old patterns. He had just overtaken Alex Marquez and was pulling away, and Bagnaia was on course for a safe second place. On lap 17 of 25, however, he made a mistake in the penultimate corner and fell. Bagnaia was able to continue the race, but ultimately missed out on the points by a long way.
American GP 2023
In the American GP, Francesco Bagnaia dictates the action at the front and, together with his opponent Alex Rins, is able to pull away from the chasing group within a few laps. Victory is possible, second place is almost certain. But Bagnaia once again misses the chequered flag and sinks his Ducati in the gravel of Turn 2. He doesn’t want to have made a mistake, instead he sees the motorcycle as the culprit.
Catalonia GP 2023
In the 2023 MotoGP race in Barcelona, Francesco Bagnaia only made it through two corners. Then he was catapulted from his Ducati with a brutal highsider, landed on the track and was run over on the legs by Brad Binder, who was coming up behind him. Miraculously, Bagnaia only suffered bruises. Whether this fall was actually a driving error remains unclear to this day. Bagnaia himself suggested a problem with the rear tire, and supplier Michelin then announced an investigation. The results of this investigation have not yet been officially communicated.
Indian GP 2023
At the MotoGP premiere in India, Bagnaia is heading for a secure podium finish, in second place, just ahead of World Championship rival Jorge Martin. On lap 14 of the race, however, he throws his Ducati into the gravel trap at turn five and is out of the race. Bagnaia immediately admits his mistake and apologizes to his team. He also complains about problems in the braking zones, which he suspects are mechanical in origin.
Barcelona Sprint 2024
After crashes by Raul Fernandez and Brad Binder, Bagnaia is on course to win the MotoGP sprint in Barcelona. The two-time world champion begins the last lap with a lead of almost 0.8 seconds over Aleix Espargaro and has everything under control. However, in the difficult downhill corner Turn 5, he slows down too much and loses the front. He ends up in the gravel bed, while world championship rivals Marc Marquez and Jorge Martin score points and extend their lead over the defending champion.