The world champion Pecco Bagnaia told by his sister Carola. A female shadow inside the Ducati factory box.
Pecco Bagnaia has a familiar shadow following him, inside the box and in the frame events. It is her sister Carola Bagnaia, a sort of trusted advisor who sits next to her during each session of the Grand Prix and the cameras often frame her in the company of Domitia Castagnini, girlfriend. Two women who prove to be an extra gear for the Savoy driver, new world champion after the historic feat achieved in the 2022 season.
The surrounding atmosphere played a fundamental role in his world championship triumph and Carola certainly plays a leading role for Pecco Bagnaia. It was she who encouraged him after the crash at Sachsenring, with the gap from Fabio Quartararo who had reached the maximum peak of 91 points and with a World Cup that seemed to be over even before the summer break. Instead, after hitting rock bottom, he gave birth to a historic comeback that allowed him to close the championship with a 17-point lead.
Carola Bagnaia talks about her brother Pecco
When Pecco was in trouble, many advised him to consult a sports psychologist, but he always rejected the advice. “I believe that the people who can help you the most are the people who are closest to you“. Her sister Carola is responsible for the nickname ‘Pecco’, because as a child she could not pronounce her name Francesco di lei correctly. Today she plays an important role in her brother’s professional life: “After the Sachsenring race the gap was wide, he made a mistake and crashed in an important race“, said the sister. “From that moment on we all told him: ‘Stop thinking about the title, think about having fun and concentrate on improving, also in view of the future“.
In the following race in Assen he began his record comeback, after an uphill start to the season the road turned all downhill. Also to blame for the psychological pressure on his brother: “We have all condemned him to win at all costs“, he added Pecco Bagnaia. “He finished the 2021 season very well, so that was normal. Things didn’t go as he expected, though. In this situation you have two options: either you change something or you get caught in a negative tunnel. Then he was very good at changing course“.
In the end Carola Bagnaia reveals some character behind the scenes of the Ducati champion. “He’s very stubborn. Everyone listens, but if you confront him and say something that is the opposite of what he said, the first response will always be, ‘That’s not true.’ But then he thinks about it and realizes it himself. He is very intelligent in this sense“.
