Pecco Bagnaia, a MotoGP champion for Ducati, hopes to represent the Italian company in the storied Suzuka 8 Hours event and is confident in his prospects.
Since its beginning in 1978, the superbike-based endurance race has been a sacred arena for Japanese manufacturers, who have triumphed in each of its iterations. However, foreign motorcycles are present; the 2022 edition included a privateer Ducati as well as the official BMW squad.
Speaking at Ducati’s end-of-year celebration in Bologna. There the company honored a fantastic 2022 that saw Alvaro Bautista win the World Superbikes championship and the MotoGP championship. Pecco Bagnaia stated, as cited by Sky Sports Italia: “I would want Ducati to compete in the Suzuka 8 Hours.”
“I realize it’s a great commitment, but Ducati always grants my requests in the end. It would be wonderful to participate, maybe with Alvaro Bautista.”
Is Pecco Bagnaia able to persuade Ducati to compete in Suzuka?
“This music is interesting, and we may have a great time. For years, I’ve been attempting to ask; Sooner or later, we’ll get there.”
In the past, Pecco Bagnaia expressed a wish to compete with Ducati in the Suzuka event
But given that he ended the Ducati MotoGP riders’ championship drought that had lasted since 2007, he likely has more clout today.
Ducati would undoubtedly have no lack of talented riders to sound out for such an endeavor. In previous years neither ruled out nor indicated a significant desire for a Suzuka effort. It is renowned for the depth of its current MotoGP squad. Meanwhile, Danilo Petrucci has joined Bautista in the Superbike division.
However, any entry that includes both Bautista and Pecco Bagnaia seems difficult simply due to calendar-related issues. The Suzuka 8 Hours are less likely to happen on a weekend in any given year that does not simultaneously host a MotoGP or a World Superbike event as the MotoGP calendar continues to grow.
That much was made clear earlier this month when the Japanese race’s 2023 edition was moved from July 30 to August 6. This generated a conflict with the MotoGP British Grand Prix and corrected one with the World Superbike round at Most.
As recently as 2016, when Pol Espargaro guided Yamaha to the trophy after also taking first place with his Tech3 teammate Bradley Smith, the Suzuka event saw a MotoGP full-timer as its victor.
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