MotoGP, Pecco Bagnaia does not worry about the taboo of No. 1

The reigning World Champion doesn’t seem at all fearful

Leafing through the annals of motorsport’s premier class, one discovers that the last World Champion to win with No. 1 on the track was Doohan back in 1998. A taboo that Bagnaia will try to dispel in the season that is about to begin (it starts on Sunday with the Portuguese GP). In fact, Bagnaia has decided to present himself at the starting tapes of the new World Championship with the No. 1 on his Ducati.

No fear, as Bagnaia himself explains to Corriere dello Sport: ” Winning is difficult, repeating is even more so. But those who repeat themselves remain in history: more than a burden, the number 1 is a great stimulus.” For someone who managed to win, as an Italian rider, on an Italian bike after a good 50 years, the taboo of winning No. 1 in MotoGP does not seem to be a big problem at all. Bagnaia is mainly focused on the Sprint Race, the big news this year: “The Sprint is the biggest change I’ve ever known in my experience in the World Championship. I’m curious to see what it will be like, because in the race you can’t always push from start to finish, but here with just a few laps you could do it. I am usually good at the start and fast in the first few laps.”