Bagnaia joins an exclusive MotoGP™ hat-trick club

After crashing out of the German GP, the gap between Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) and World Championship leader Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) was a mammoth 91 points. Bagnaia also sat sixth in the overall standings after a third DNF in four races.

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However, fast forward three races to where we are now, and the Championship landscape looks a lot different. Bagnaia has turned his fortunes around to win the Dutch, British and Austrian GPs to cut that 91-point gap down to a much healthier 44 points, and in doing so joins a very exclusive MotoGP™ club.

That club is made up of six riders who have won three races in a row in the MotoGP™ era. Pecco has etched his name alongside five of the greatest riders we’ve ever seen grace our sport, highlighting just how difficult it is to achieve a feat like this – not that we needed it highlighting anyway.

The list of riders Pecco has joined is as follows: Valentino Rossi, Casey Stoner, Dani Pedrosa, Jorge Lorenzo, and Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team). 28 World Championship titles between them including Pecco’s 2018 Moto2™ crowning. And in addition to that, Pecco becomes the first Ducati rider since Stoner in 2008 to win three in a row – another accolade well worth shouting about.

With Rossi now retired, Italy will be craving a new star to cheer on. Luckily, there’s no shortage of Italian stars across all three Grand Prix classes, but Pecco – a VR46 Academy protégé – is the shining tricolour light at the moment. Notching up a MotoGP™ hat-trick has cemented his name alongside his nine-time World Champion friend, but it’s that illustrious premier class crown Pecco will be craving.

A trip home – Misano – is the next instalment. Bagnaia is a two-time winner at the Riviera di Rimini layout in Moto2™ and MotoGP™, so a fourth win on the spin is absolutely on the cards. That would be something very special in front of his home crowd.