Bagnaia wins Ducati Race of Champions in comeback from drink driving incident

Pecco Bagnaia won the Ducati Race of Champions, a reminder of his talents on his first notable comeback since a drink driving incident.
Francesco Bagnaia, Dutch MotoGP race, 26 June
Francesco Bagnaia, Dutch MotoGP race, 26 June

Bagnaia admitted to failing a breathalyser test after crashing his car while in Ibiza during MotoGP’s summer break - he was labelled “an idiot” by Keith Huewen, who added that the rider’s career should not be affected by the mistake.

The Italian was back on a bike during World Ducati Week 2022, the showpiece annual event, and he stormed to victory in the main race.

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The Race of Champions brought Ducati riders from different championships together on the same track - Danilo Petrucci and Alvaro Bautista were among the entrants.

Bagnaia had qualified fastest then led the eight-lap race in Misano, Italy, from start to finish.

Mooney VR46 duo Marini and Bezzecchi completed the podium but could not challenge Bagnaia.

Jack Miller, Enea Bastianini and Jorge Martin were fourth, fifth and sixth respectively.

Bagnaia finished in 12'57.901.

Federico Caricasulo, the WorldSBK rider for Althea Racing, finished 13th overall but topped a separate podium for riders who raced on the Ducati V2.

Ducati Race of Champions 2022 results
PositionRiderTeamBikeTime
1Pecco BagnaiaDucati Lenovo TeamDucati V412'57.901
2Luca MariniMooney VR46 Racing TeamDucati V4+0.696
3Marco BezzecchiMooney VR46 Racing TeamDucati V4+1.722
4Jack MillerDucati Lenovo TeamDucati V4+4.182
5Enea BastianiniGresini Racing MotoGPDucati V4+7.051
6Jorge MartinPrima Pramac RacingDucati V4+7.873
7Axel BassaniMotorcorsa RacingDucati V4+9.167
8Johann ZarcoPrima Pramac RacingDucati V4+10.331
9Fabio Di GiannantonioGresini Racing MotoGPDucati V4+13.826
10Luca BernardiBarni Spark Racing TeamDucati V4+16.261
11Danilo PetrucciWarhorse HSBK Racing Ducati TeamDucati V4+19.572
12Philipp OttlTeam Go ElevenDucati V4+21.199
13Federico CaricasuloAlthea RacingDucati V2+32.123
14Nicholas SpinelliBarni Spark Racing TeamDucati V2+32.123
15Maximilian KoflerCM Racing TeamDucati V2+32.817
16Oliver BaylissBarni Spark Racing TeamDucati V2+39.345
17Federico FuligniD34G RacingDucati V2+43.286
18Alvaro BautistaAruba.it Racing-DucatiDucati V4+48.287
19Michael RinaldiAruba.it Racing-DucatiDucati V4+48.291
20Michele PirroDucati Lenovo TeamDucati v4+five laps

 

What next for Pecco Bagnaia?

Francesco Bagnaia, Dutch MotoGP race, 26 June
Francesco Bagnaia, Dutch MotoGP race, 26 June

Bagnaia sits fourth in the MotoGP standings behind Fabio Quartararo, Aleix Espargaro and Johann Zarco.

MotoGP returns from its summer break at Silverstone for the British Grand Prix on August  5-7.

He will be under the spotlight after his drink driving incident in Ibiza, the latest episode in a tumultuous 2022 season.

Will it effect how Bagnaia performs upon his return?

Read More

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