Marc Sinkewitz
Motorcycle Department
MotoGP-crazy trash talker from Germany who enjoys spending time on his motorcycle.MORE
Francesco Bagnaia soon to be the most successful Ducati rider with a preference for Assen
Bagnaia has long been one of the most successful Ducati riders of the MotoGP era. Last year he defended his throne and won the MotoGP World Championship title for the second time. This makes him the only one, apart from Casey Stoner, to have won a title in the red jersey. Bagnaia caught up with Casey Stoner on Sunday with his 23rd Grand Prix victory in the premier class. Incidentally, in his 94th MotoGP race he also won the 94th victory for the class leader of the premier class. The next success will crown him the sole record winner for the Ducatisti. In terms of podium finishes, he is also only one top-three finish behind the Australian, with 41.
Assen is known to be one of ‘Pecco’ Bagnaia’s favorite tracks. It is not for nothing that the 27-year-old has the layout of the 4.54-kilometer-long track tattooed on his arm. It was there that he celebrated the first Grand Prix victory of his career in Moto3 in 2016. Including the most recent success last weekend, four more victories were added – including three pole positions. Bagnaia has been unbeaten in Assen since 2022, and the five winner’s trophies (three GPs, two sprints) all found their way into his pocket.
He is the first person to achieve such a series since Mick Doohan destroyed the premier class in Assen in the 1990s. The Australian won five races in a row on his Repsol Honda from 1994 to 1998. Bagnaia will therefore not be able to equal this record until 2026 at the earliest.
Francesco Bagnaia in World Cup form: In his own league since Barcelona
Bagnaia is currently getting himself into absolute World Championship form. After his fifth win of the season, he is now only 10 points behind his Ducati colleague with 190 points Jorge Martin. He scored 99 of the 190 points in the last three race weekends alone. Without the failure in the last lap of the sprint in Barcelona, he would now be the world championship leader and would have scored the maximum number of points from the stops in Catalonia, Italy and Assen. Jorge Martin has long recognized the extremely precarious situation for his world championship hopes and wants to interrupt Bagnaia’s dominance at the Sachsenring. Bagnaia will start in a Grand Prix race there for the 200th time.
This dominance brings to light even more impressive numbers. Bagnaia celebrated flawless start-to-finish victories in the sprint and Grand Prix both in Assen and previously in Mugello. He thus led the last 73 race laps in MotoGP. The last time he had a series of three Grand Prix victories was in 2022 – back then, too, it was Bagnaia who scored 25 points each in Assen, Silverstone, Spielberg and Misano.
Now it’s up to you: Can Francesco Bagnaia still be stopped in the 2024 MotoGP season? Or can the Italian soon celebrate his third world title in a row? Tell us your opinion in the comments!
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