Bagnaia details a key problem with fighting multiple Ducatis for the title

Ducati are guaranteed to win the 2023 championship, with factory rider Bagnaia, Pramac’s Jorge Martin and VR46’s Marco Bezzecchi the only contenders mathematically capable of glory with three rounds remaining.

Reigning champion Bagnaia leads Martin by 13 points ahead of this weekend’s Malaysian MotoGP.

Bagnaia explained the unique challenge of battling other Ducatis: “I don’t think we have an advantage, in terms of experience in the championship.

“Right now, if you’re fast, everyone looks at your data. You fight against others.

“This is, for me, great but also difficult.

“Maybe sometimes we find something else to them. But in the next session they are all trying it!

“I don’t want to think about the championship. I will attack like always, push my best, try to open the gap.”

Bagnaia is now accustomed to scrapping at the top: “Fighting for a championship for a third year in a row means we are doing a really good job.

“I don’t think it will be a failure, in case we lose it.

“It will be great to win because I don’t remember many names who have won the title two years in a row. This would be fabulous for me.

“In terms of pressure, last year was higher after 15 years without a title for Ducati.

“It was more intense and I was feeling the weight on my shoulders.

“This year is different. I feel a lot of pressure, the same, but in a more motivational way.

“Being the reference is something we need to be proud of.”

Bagnaia’s maiden title, last year, was won after chasing down Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo from 92 points behind, a record amount.

“Last year was just to push with nothing to lose,” he said.

“We were so behind and it was important to finish races in front.

“This year is different because we’re fighting against another bike like my one!

“It’s different. Jorge is doing an outstanding job.

“His way to race is to put many things to the limit. The rear tyres, many things.

“You can clearly see, when Jorge pushed in Mandalika, he was under control. He was really pushing hard. More mistakes make him crash. “Things can change like this, so you have to be more precise and consider more than the performance.”

Bagnaia hasn’t had everything his own way this year.

A difficult run of form in the middle of the season had fans questioning if mistakes were creeping back into his performances, and he experienced struggles with his Desmosedici.

“My problems started in Misano on braking,” he said.

“It was difficult. India, Japan, I was struggling a lot to find the feeling to fight.

“Winning again in Mandalika, with this kind of performance, helped us to feel the strongest.”

He detailed another clear weakness: “We work a lot during the whole weekend to be prepared for the long race.

“Every time, we prepare strong than the others in terms of consistency with used tyres.

“This is great but sometimes doesn’t help me for time attacks.

“This is motivation to bounce back, try to win, try to be on top.

“Three times in Q1 and three times I’ve finished on the podium.”