Bagnaia nominated for Laureus Comeback of the Year Award

Ducati Lenovo Team's Francesco Bagnaia has been nominated for the 2023 Laureus World Comeback of the Year Award thanks to his history-making 91-point turnaround that helped him to his first MotoGP™ World Championship. No rider in premier class history had managed to overcome a deficit of that size before the Italian pieced together eigth podiums in the final ten races, including five victories, to clinch the premier class crown by 17 points.

The 26-year-old is up against some fierce competition to try and win the coveted Laureus Award, with five other athletes nominated. Golf legend Tiger Woods' return at the 2022 Masters, 14 months after a car crash that crushed one of his feet, is the standout name in the category. Alongside him in the nominations are Basketball's Klay Thompson, who missed two entire seasons through injuries before returning to win his fourth NBA championship with the Golden State Warriors, and Christian Eriksen, who returned to competitive action in February 2022 after collapsing on the field and suffering a cardiac arrest during a Euro 2020 match for Denmark.

Dutch cyclist and 2022 Tour de France Femmes winner Annemiek van Vleuten and Norwegian athletics star Jakob Ingebrigtsen are also up for the award.

Bagnaia is aiming to become only the third MotoGP™ star to pick a Laureus Award after Valentino Rossi and Marc Marquez. Italian legend Rossi had the honour of winning three Laureus Awards over his illustrious career: the 2006 Sporting Inspiration Award, the 2011 World Comeback of the Year and the 2022 Sporting Icon Award. Marquez, meanwhile, picked up the 2014 World Breakthrough Award after clinching the premier class title in his rookie season.