Yamaha’s Quartararo needed to win the race to have any chance of retaining his crown, with Bagnaia simply needing to finish in 14th to secure Ducati’s first world title in MotoGP since 2007.
Despite an incredibly tense race, with Quartararo beating Bagnaia on track, ninth at the chequered flag was enough for the Italian to win the championship – becoming the first Italian to do so since Valentino Rossi in 2009, and the first rider in history to do so having registered five DNFs.
