Ducati is finalizing the final details of a new deal with Francesco Bagnaia, who will lead the Italian until the end of 2024, Motorsport.com has learned.
Bagnaia has been a Ducati rider throughout his MotoGP career, making his debut with the brand with the Pramac team in 2019 and staying there for 2020 before being promoted to the factory team last season.
After two difficult years with Pramac in which he only managed a podium, 2021 proved to be a breakout season for Bagnaia at Ducati as he won four races on his way to second in the Championship and beat Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo by just 26 points missed .
With the improvements Ducati has made and Bagnaia coming of age in the premier class, the Italian goes into the new season as the favorite for the championship.
Motorsport.com understand Ducati hopes to finalize its new two-year deal with Bagnaia ahead of the start of the 2022 season in Qatar on March 6th.
“Right now we’re very close to renewing Pecco,” Ducati sporting director Paolo Ciabatti told Motorsport.com in Malaysia during pre-season testing at Sepang.
“If there are no surprises, it will be done. That has to be the natural progression of things.”
Bagnaia’s new deal is likely to see a pay rise for the Italian, who was said to have had a base salary of €800,000 last year, although his salary received an additional €800,000 in performance bonuses.
As to who Bagnaia’s teammate will be from 2023 onwards, Motorsport.com reckons Ducati will need some time to make a final decision.
Bagnaia’s current team-mate is three-time race winner Jack Miller, and the Australian’s contract expires at the end of the year.
Pramac’s Jorge Martin, who won a race in his debut 2021 season, and Gresini’s Enea Bastianini, who scored two podiums in his 2021 rookie campaign on a two-year-old Ducati, are thought to be fighting for second place on the factory team.
Ducati is unlikely to look elsewhere in the rider market to complete its 2023 line-up given the vast talent it has in its current ranks through its factory team Pramac, Gresini and VR46.