Pecco Bagnaia and Enea Bastianini did not spare themselves on the track, but rumors about team orders continue to circulate.
The victory of I’m sorry Bagnaia has put an end to a long wait that lasted 15 years in the Ducati house. Up until the middle of the championship, the undertaking seemed very difficult, with 91 points behind Fabio Quartararo after the crash at the Sachsenring. Instead, the combination of Italian rider and bike gave their best after Assen, with a historic and unstoppable comeback that led him to win the title by 17 points.
During the season there was a lot of talk about team orders, to allow the Turin driver to score the world championship finish. Many rumors were unfounded rumors, in Malaysia the Borgo Panigale manufacturer was accused of having asked Aeneas Bastianini of the Gresini team not to overtake Pecco while he was fighting for the win. And it is perhaps here that the World Championship was decided: 1st Bagnaia, 2nd Bastianini, 3rd Quartararo, with Bezzecchi at the foot of the podium. If he had overtaken the Frenchman from Yamaha, the World Championship would have ended one race early.
Bagnaia and Bastianini a “luxury” in the pits
The ds Paul Ciabatti he admits that on some weekends the tension was skyrocketing. “We were quite nervous in some situations, at Misano and Aragon, and to be honest at Sepang“, he tells ‘Autosport’. “Bezzecchi was closing the gap on Quartararo and if Bezzecchi were third with Pecco winning we would be world champions. We were discussing what to do if Bezzecchi was third. But then Bezzecchi lost ground and so we let it go“.
Even on that occasion Ducati did not give team orders to Bastianini, despite what was said outside. “We proved all the team orders rumors were bullshit, because if there were any team orders, Jack [Miller] he wouldn’t be second in Thailand and Bastianini wouldn’t have won in Aragon, or he wouldn’t have tried to overtake Pecco at Misano, or even tried to challenge him at Sepang“.
From next season MotoGP Pecco Bagnaia and Enea Bastianini will be teammates, many fear sparks inside the garage, with a situation that could play against the Italian brand. The Ducati top management doesn’t think so: “I think it’s a luxury to have the world champion and the third place in the team“ concluded Paolo Ciabatti. “Between the two of them they have won more than 50% of the grand prix. I think it’s quite a problem to handle“.
