Casey Stoner pinpoints the MotoGP “taboo” that has finally come to an end

Bagnaia, this season, became the first champion since Stoner in 2008 to defend his championship with #1 on the front of his bike.

Bagnaia’s maiden title last season was the first for Ducati since 2007 when Stoner was on top of the sport.

“I’m proud that you’re wearing #1,” Stoner told Bagnaia in a face-to-face chat at Goodwood.

“There seems to be a taboo against wearing #1. If you’re the world champion then show it with pride.”

Bagnaia replied: “If you have the possibility, it’s the best thing to do.”

Stoner: “I agree.”

Bagnaia: “When I saw for the first time the pictures of my bike with the #1, it was incredible.”

Stoner: “It’s something you dream of.”

Bagnaia was a young fan in Italy when the manufacturer took the 2007 MotoGP championship through Stoner, their 21-year-old rider.

“I grew up a fan of Ducati,” Bagnaia remembered. “I saw Ducati win for the first time with Casey. I was made for Vale, I was a big fan of Vale’s, but I was so happy for Ducati to win the title. It was Casey winning.”

But times have changed. Stoner might have competed against legends like Valentino Rossi but he believes that Bagnaia has a harder job today.

“It’s different for Pecco than it was for me,” Stoner said. 

“We were unexpected, nobody had any expectation of us winning a championship.

“We were very fortunate that year. Everything went in our direction, most of the time.

“Now, everybody has a chance to win, on almost any bike or manufacturer in the championship.

It makes Pecco’s job much more difficult. 

“For me, Pecco has done a fantastic job in a difficult moment in a MotoGP series because of the amount of pressure, and the amount of people that are able to win.”

Bagnaia came back from a 91-point deficit to pip reigning champion Fabio Quartararo to the 2022 title at the final round.

“In Valencia was the first time that I felt a big, big weight on my shoulders,” he now admits.

“It was 15 years without a title. I was feeling it.”

Stoner said: “Everything was in that moment. It had to go right.”

Bagnaia: “It was easy to commit mistakes. I was not able to go in the front and go away, my pace wasn’t enough. We made a strategy to block Fabio. I did a bit but the race was a nightmare!”

Bagnaia finished ninth, Quartararo fourth, enough to give the Italian his first-ever title.

It was a historic moment - Ducati’s first title since 2007, and the first for an Italian rider since Rossi in 2009.

Stoner recalls his own feelings of pressure at his decisive race in 2007: “It was the same for me in Japan. The set-up wasn’t going well in the dry, the bike was a real struggle around Motegi. 

“We didn’t believe we were going to win the title. It was my worst race of the season but we managed to win the championship.”

Bagnaia smiled: “The taste is better! In Moto2 I won the title but the feeling is 20%. In MotoGP it’s another story.”

Bagnaia is three points clear at the top of the MotoGP standings now, but the momentum is fully with fellow Ducati rider Jorge Martin.