Italian MotoGP: Francesco Bagnaia, Marco Bezzecchi dismiss notion that Ducati WSBK success is similar to MotoGP
MotoGP stars Francesco Bagnaia and Marco Bezzecchi believe WorldSBK champion Alvaro Bautista has been key to Ducati’s Superbike success, not the Panigale V4 R.
Ducati are dominating both MotoGP and WorldSBK, and have done so since last season when Bagnaia and Bautista claimed success in both series’.
Prior to Bagnaia’s title win, Ducati was without a MotoGP title since 2007, while the Italian manufacturer’s last Superbike title was in 2011, however, Ducati has quickly become the bike to beat in both championships.
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Bagnaia is the current championship leader once again in MotoGP through five rounds, while Mooney VR46 Ducati rider Bezzecchi is just one point behind him.
In WorldSBK, Bautista has shown the type of dominance we’ve rarely seen after claiming a third consecutive hat-trick last weekend in Misano, meaning he has won 14 out of 15 races so far this year.
But Bagnaia and Bezzecchi, who were in attendance for Bautista’s latest triumph, claimed the bike is not the reason why the Spaniard is enjoying so much success.
Bagnaia said: "It was fun! I saw a good race. Ducati is there with Bautista. Other riders are competitive but Bautista is making the difference, not the bike.
"I enjoyed it a lot," added Bezzecchi. "I like the Superbikes but it is Bautista that is very strong. The bike is good but the other Ducatis are not like him."
Bagnaia not 100% fit for home MotoGP race
After his clash with Maverick Vinales at the French Grand Prix three weeks ago, Bagnaia has confirmed he remains less than 100% for the Mugello round.
Struggling more with walking rather than riding, the Italian does not expect to see his performance suffer as a result of his ankle injury.
"I’m not 100% but I’m struggling more to walk than ride," said Bagnaia. "After four days I didn’t know that I broke the ankle.
"I was riding here just to train and I was feeling pain, but nothing that without a bit of focus stopped me from riding. I don’t think it will affect my race weekend."
