Bagnaia wins Ducati Race of Champions in comeback from drink driving incident

Bagnaia admitted to failing a breathalyser test after crashing his car while in Ibiza during MotoGP’s summer break - he was labelled “an idiot” by Keith Huewen, who added that the rider’s career should not be affected by the mistake.

The Italian was back on a bike during World Ducati Week 2022, the showpiece annual event, and he stormed to victory in the main race.

The Race of Champions brought Ducati riders from different championships together on the same track - Danilo Petrucci and Alvaro Bautista were among the entrants.

Bagnaia had qualified fastest then led the eight-lap race in Misano, Italy, from start to finish.

Mooney VR46 duo Marini and Bezzecchi completed the podium but could not challenge Bagnaia.

Jack Miller, Enea Bastianini and Jorge Martin were fourth, fifth and sixth respectively.

Bagnaia finished in 12'57.901.

Federico Caricasulo, the WorldSBK rider for Althea Racing, finished 13th overall but topped a separate podium for riders who raced on the Ducati V2.

Ducati Race of Champions 2022 results
Position	Rider	Team	Bike	Time
1	Pecco Bagnaia	Ducati Lenovo Team	Ducati V4	12'57.901
2	Luca Marini	Mooney VR46 Racing Team	Ducati V4	+0.696
3	Marco Bezzecchi	Mooney VR46 Racing Team	Ducati V4	+1.722
4	Jack Miller	Ducati Lenovo Team	Ducati V4	+4.182
5	Enea Bastianini	Gresini Racing MotoGP	Ducati V4	+7.051
6	Jorge Martin	Prima Pramac Racing	Ducati V4	+7.873
7	Axel Bassani	Motorcorsa Racing	Ducati V4	+9.167
8	Johann Zarco	Prima Pramac Racing	Ducati V4	+10.331
9	Fabio Di Giannantonio	Gresini Racing MotoGP	Ducati V4	+13.826
10	Luca Bernardi	Barni Spark Racing Team	Ducati V4	+16.261
11	Danilo Petrucci	Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati Team	Ducati V4	+19.572
12	Philipp Ottl	Team Go Eleven	Ducati V4	+21.199
13	Federico Caricasulo	Althea Racing	Ducati V2	+32.123
14	Nicholas Spinelli	Barni Spark Racing Team	Ducati V2	+32.123
15	Maximilian Kofler	CM Racing Team	Ducati V2	+32.817
16	Oliver Bayliss	Barni Spark Racing Team	Ducati V2	+39.345
17	Federico Fuligni	D34G Racing	Ducati V2	+43.286
18	Alvaro Bautista	Aruba.it Racing-Ducati	Ducati V4	+48.287
19	Michael Rinaldi	Aruba.it Racing-Ducati	Ducati V4	+48.291
20	Michele Pirro	Ducati Lenovo Team	Ducati v4	+five laps

 

What next for Pecco Bagnaia?

Bagnaia sits fourth in the MotoGP standings behind Fabio Quartararo, Aleix Espargaro and Johann Zarco.

MotoGP returns from its summer break at Silverstone for the British Grand Prix on August  5-7.

He will be under the spotlight after his drink driving incident in Ibiza, the latest episode in a tumultuous 2022 season.

Will it effect how Bagnaia performs upon his return?