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.
