Francesco Bagnaia and Ducati 2023 MotoGP World Champions

History repeats itself: Francesco Bagnaia is the 2023 MotoGP World Champion. Thanks to a win in the Valencia GP season finale, the Ducati Lenovo Team rider secured his second world title in the premier class. Having made history for being the first Italian rider to win in MotoGP with an Italian motorcycle last year, the Ducati Lenovo Team rider has now written another important chapter in motorcycle racing history by reconfirming himself on the top of the world with his Desmosedici GP.

For the Bagnaia-Ducati duo it has been another emotional journey with 7 successes achieved in the 20 GPs and 4 victories in the Saturday Sprint races, introduced this year in the event program. From his first win in the inaugural Grand Prix at Portimão, to an unforgettable success in Jerez, to triumph in front of his home crowd at Mugello, up to his great wins in the Netherlands and Austria, Pecco and his Desmosedici GP’s march towards a second title seemed to be unstoppable, but the dramatic accident at Barcelona, from which the rider from Chivasso fortunately emerged with bruises but no fractures, put a halt to his rise.

With Jorge Martín increasingly in tune with his Pramac Racing team Desmosedici GP, the fight for the world title soon became a head-to-head between the two Ducati riders. However, Bagnaia's response did not take long to arrive and with another spectacular victory in Indonesia, coming back from thirteenth position on the grid, the Ducati Lenovo Team rider resumed his climb to the top of the World Championship.

Today’s exciting finale at Valencia saw Bagnaia start from first on the grid following a penalty for Viñales (Aprilia) in the warm-up and the rider from Chivasso made the most of his advantage with a great start. At Turn 1 of lap 2 Martin made a late braking move on Pecco to try and take the lead, but they touched, and the Spaniard went wide. Martin then crashed out on lap 6, bringing an end to the title battle. Bagnaia inherited the lead on lap 19 when Miller (KTM) crashed at Turn 11.

Photo gallery