Bagnaia: Silverstone 2022 “one of the most beautiful victories of my career”

The factory Ducati star delivered “one of the most beautiful victories of my career” from fifth on the grid last season, gaining the momentum that would eventually take him to world championship glory.

This time he is very much the rider to beat, turning the page on early falls in Argentina, COTA and Le Mans to win half of the eight grands prix so far this season, plus three Sprint victories.

That has kept young lions Jorge Martin (1 GP win, 1 sprint win) and Marco Bezzecchi (2 GP wins, 1 sprint win) at bay, but as the satellite Ducati duo grow in confidence Bagnaia knows he can’t afford to throw any more points away.

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"It was a good summer break: I was able to rest but also dedicate myself to my training program, and I had a lot of fun on track, on several occasions, with my Panigale V4S together with the other Ducati riders,” Bagnaia said. “It is time to start again, and I am happy about that."

The Italian, who held off Maverick Vinales and team-mate Jack Miller by just 0.6s at the end of last year's race, added: "Last year at Silverstone, I scored one of the most beautiful victories of my career in a weekend that did not start immediately in the best way,

“This year's goal will be to get off on the right foot immediately and, above all, try to bring home more important points for the overall standings."

Team-mate Enea Bastianini was among the riders to use the summer break to rebuild physical fitness from earlier injuries, in his case a fractured shoulder at Portimao.

Bastianini was a best of eighth in the three rounds leading up to the break but is now looking to step up a level and return to his 2022 form – which included a fighting fourth place, just 1.651s from victory, at Silverstone last year.

"I am happy to be back on track finally! During these five weeks, I rested but also worked hard to return as ready as possible for this second part of the season,” Bastianini said.

“Silverstone is one of my favourite tracks, so the goal will be to get a good result and fight for the podium. It will not be easy, and the weather is always unpredictable in England, but we will do our best, as always."