Ducati pay tribute to “incredible” Pecco Bagnaia at Race of Champions
Ducati deliver verdict on Lenovo Race of Champions
Ducati have credited their star man Francesco Bagnaia after he won the Lenovo Race of Champions.
Bagnaia overtook polesitter Andrea Iannone on the first lap then, after a spirited scrap, held off his rival to win the 10-lap race at Misano on Saturday.
The event at World Ducati Week was notable for Nicolo Bulega crashing out at the last corner in an incident with Marc Marquez who, as a result, completed the podium.
Ducati confirmed Marquez and Bulega “made contact”.
But the Lenovo Race of Champions was ultimately won by the Italian manufacturer’s poster boy.
Claudio Domenicali, the Ducati CEO, said: "The Lenovo Race of Champions is an incredible spectacle for all motorcycling fans.
“Personally, I had a lot of fun during the race, and seeing the red crowd of World Ducati Week on the grandstands of the Misano Circuit was a great emotion.
“Congratulations to Pecco, who once again showed the world his incredible talent by winning a world-class race, and congratulations also to Andrea and Marc, who finished on the podium.
“We would have also liked to have Nicolo on the podium during the celebratory moment, but it was rightly given priority for medical checks after the crash.
“The Lenovo Race of Champions and this WDW2024 was the perfect setting to demonstrate the value of the new Panigale V4, and the improvement in performance compared to the 2022 race makes us proud of the work done on this motorcycle".
Bagnaia added: “First of all, I want to say that it was fantastic seeing so many people on the grandstands.
“I was even able to hear people cheering, although I had the helmet on while racing; it was really incredible.
“The race was great; I enjoyed it a lot. I couldn’t understand what the gap was, so I just pushed a lot and had a lot of fun.
“I am very happy to have tried the new Panigale V4 here in Misano, and I really look forward to training on it from now on.”
The showpiece race brought together Ducati’s top 15 riders from MotoGP, World Superbikes and British Superbikes.
They were riding the new Panigale V4, a bike unveiled by Ducati earlier in the week.
MotoGP champion Bagnaia showed his authority by winning the Race of Champions.
Next weekend, he will return to defending his title at the British MotoGP at Silverstone. He currently has a 10-point lead over Jorge Martin.
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
