It’s been a wild few rounds of the 2022 world championship for Pecco Bagnaia, but Ducati’s no.63 soared to the seventh win of his MotoGP career in front of a colourful and vibrant capacity crowd of over 100,000 at the historic TT Assen.
The Italian has fine memories around The Cathedral of motorcycling, securing the first Grand Prix win of his career in Moto3 back in 2016 - and he immortalised the moment with a tattoo of the circuit on his arm. Perhaps he won’t go visit his artist after winning the iconic race in MotoGP, but the victory arrives at a much-needed time for the 25-year-old.
Bagnaia is undeniably fast and has won the last three races he has finished, but therein lies the problem: the Ducati star has crashed out in three of the last six Grands Prix, and has retired on four occasions in 2022. After targeting a championship push this season, Bagnaia has seen those hopes crash and burn with each fall, but the win at Assen could reignite his title hopes - particularly as championship leader and 2021 world champion Fabio Quartararo had a day to forget as he crashed out.
“I was very terrified to crash again so I just tried to be smart and just try to don’t push it over the limit and finally, we were able to do a great race again,” Bagnaia said before taking a well-deserved sip from his prosecco after making up 25 points on the Yamaha superstar. “I was scared to crash, for the past races so my objective today was to finish the race. After two zeros like I did, it was very important to arrive at the finish line.”
Bagnaia remains 66 points adrift of the the Frenchman, but the Italian has proved he is not done yet. A likeable and soft-spoken racer, he finally showed poise and race management to control from the front and ensure he was never truly threatened by Mooney VR46 - the team owned by MotoGP icon Valentino Rossi - rising star Marco Bezzecchi.
They say holy water repels demons and other forces of evil, and it did just that to the reigning world champion. Quartararo, usually so consistent in his incredible performances, had a weekend to forget as El Diablo was burned by The Cathedral which featured worrying hints of rain that never properly came to the delight of Bagnaia.
As he chased the Italian’s Ducati, the 23-year-old leaned too far into the tight banked corner and slammed into title rival Aleix Espargaro, who surely enjoyed the most impressive drive of not only the race but the entire 2022 season. The Spaniard returned to the track and fought back to secure fourth thanks to a stunning overtake of both KTM’s Brad Binder and Ducati’s Jack Miller on the final corner.
Quartararo, who still holds a valuable 21-point lead over Espargaro heading into the sport’s five-week summer break, apologised to the Aprilia rider as the two are great friends. That much was clear as a jubilant Espargaro insisted his unbelievable display of overtaking prowess was due to the early incident.
“When Fabio hit me, I said ‘nothing will change if I score three points. You need to go for more than 10 - if you crash, it’s not your fault, it’s Fabio’s!’,” Espargaro joked after securing P4. “I don’t want to sound arrogant but my pace was better than the rest. It made overtaking easier, and my bike was unbelievable.
“If I want to challenge for this title, I need to be the fastest on the tack - and I did that this weekend. The victory was clear.”
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Based on his dominant pace and savvy overtaking ability, Espargaro may indeed have been cruelly denied a famous win - but he can hardly complain as the crash that took Quartararo out of contention has led to a greater swing in the wider race for the world title. Asked if the last race before the five-week summer break is the best or worst time for the championship leader to make mistakes, Quartarao smiled as he sunk back in his chair.
“It is not the best, it is not the worst,” the Frenchman said before taking a deep breath and sighing with his immense disappointment clear. “I will punch myself over the next few days, but then I’ll think about all the previous races that went well…it’s just a stupid mistake!”
Assen saw hundreds of thousands of fans create an undeniable atmosphere amidst the vibrant merchandise highlighting the legacy of the recently-retired Valentino Rossi and the thick smell of petrol and sugar from the concession stands littered around the iconic venue.
It may have been a weekend to forget for Quartararo, but for Ducati’s loyal and passionate fanbase, for Bagnaia, and, frankly, for neutrals, the TT Assen did its job: a title race that threatened to be over criminally early is wide open. Your move, Silverstone.
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