Three-time MotoGP World Champion Jorge Lorenzo believes that in the hands of Pecco Bagnaia, the Ducati will be the combination to beat in the 2022 MotoGP World Championship.
Lorenzo spent two humble seasons at Ducati in 2017 and 2018 after parting ways with Yamaha – with whom he won all three titles in 2010, 2012 and 2015 – before retiring at the end of the year after a difficult stint at Honda following a difficult injury-related stint Season 2019.
The Spaniard was just one in a line of riders struggling to get used to the Ducati Desmosedici package, followed by Marco Melandri, Valentino Rossi and Cal Crutchlow, although his form changed when he left Honda for the following year was confirmed, taking three wins in six races before an injury ruined the end of his year.
Over time, Ducati’s shape – namely, its consistency – has steadily improved, developments that led to it being the dominant force in the second half of the 2021 season.
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Even though Fabio Quartararo took Yamaha’s first MotoGP crown since Lorenzo in 2015 last year, the Spaniard can’t look beyond a Ducati rider to take his first title in 15 years.
“Quartararo and Bagnaia are the favorites, but even though Fabio is champion, I see Pecco with more options just because he has a Ducati, which for me is without a doubt the best bike ever,” he told Motosan.
In fact, Lorenzo believes Ducati would have won more titles with the right riders on the bike, adding that people like Martin – who currently rides the Pramac machine – and 2020 MotoGP World Champion Joan Mir would be hot bets , should they find themselves in a factory machine in the future.
“I think this Ducati with Marquez or Stoner would have won other championships and if everything goes well in the future, they’ll get it with Pecco or Martin. “
“I think that only if I switched to Ducati would I take a significant step forward. From the outside, I see Suzuki and Yamaha on a similar level.
“KTM isn’t bad and the Honda and Aprilia look complicated, although they can be there too. The Ducati is very fast with every driver and that is no coincidence … “