Francesco Bagnaia is not too sad having lost the chance to win the MotoGP title in 2021 as he sees the positives from the 2021 season.
After how his 2020 went, not many put Bagnaia in the front seat to fight for the 2021 MotoGP title, even though he moved to factory Ducati. His teammate Jack Miller was still marked as one of the contenders considering his experience.
But as the 2021 season progressed, Bagnaia started to showcase his consistency and pace and with Johann Zarco throwing away chances, the Italian assumed the title challenger space to Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo. The Frenchman still had the upperhand though.
The points accumulated by Quartararo from the start of the season came in handy despite the wins and podiums for Bagnaia. It was for the Italian to continue with his winning streak, so as to not allow the Frenchman to win the title, especially at Misano.
It looked like that way until the crash for Bagnaia which ended the little hope. Even though the Italian was disappointed with the crash but looking at the overall picture of not having the objective of a world championship this year, he was pleased with how it panned out.
Bagnaia reckons it has helped him learn the nuances and get better with the bike, which will come handy in 2022 and beyond. “I am a bit frustrated but not angry, we did it all,” he said to MotoGP.com. “We tried. Maybe we chose the front that was better for me but not for the condition, but it was the only tyre that give me this feeling with the bike at Misano.
“I tried, I pushed a lot, the pace was incredible and then I crashed. I am just happy with the work done this year, we made massive improvements, a great step in front in the last four races. I was always in the Top 3, this is the most important thing. This year my objective was not of the title or of the team because I was coming in the factory team without winning any race, without fighting for anything because I finished 16th last year.
“This year I learn a lot, I improved a lot, and I have grown a lot. For next year, I think, all the races this year has put a great base for next year. I am quite sure that next year our bike will be quite incredible, more than this one, that already is incredible. And I will be more prepared to fight for the championship.
“I was thinking that my objective at the start was to always be in Top 5, we did it. And then now we are second in the championship, and I think that my worst position has been third because I have 50 points to Zarco. I think that is a great result but we have still two races to do and my objective now is to finish second. I know second is first of the loser, but I’ll try to be second,” summed up Bagnaia.
He has two races now to secure second from Suzuki’s Joan Mir, who is 27 points behind Bagnaia. Seeing the red hot form, it seems more likely that the Italian will just managed to edge out the 2020 MotoGP champion, who is third without a win against his name.
Here’s Fabio Quartararo on his 2021 MotoGP title win