Sunday at the PETRONAS Grand Prix of Malaysia was another fantastic day at the office for Ducati. Thanks to Francesco Bagnaia’s (Ducati Lenovo Team) flawless ride to victory from P9 on the grid and his teammate Jack Miller’s brilliant recovery to P6, the Teams’ Championship was wrapped up ahead of the season finale in Valencia.
The Bologna factory collected the Constructors’ crown back in Aragon, and barring a disaster, it was only a matter of time before they took the Teams’ title with Bagnaia and Miller both in red hot form. They arrived in Sepang 84 points ahead of Aprilia Racing and needed to end Sunday just 45 points clear of the Noale factory, with the gap now 113 points after picking up 35 points to Aprilia’s six.
The fact of the matter is at least one Ducati rider has finished on the podium at every race this year. In addition, Ducati are currently enjoying a 25-race podium streak that stretches back to the 2021 Aragon GP. Only Yamaha between 2014 and 2016 have accumulated more (35) in recent years. Moreover, after claiming a record 24 podiums in total last year, Ducati’s 31 rostrum tally before Valencia is another example of their brilliance in 2022. Other additions to their 2022 trophy cabinet are the Rookie of the Year, best Independent Team rider and best Independent Team titles, thanks to Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team), Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) and Prima Pramac Racing.
However, the most sought-after prize remains up for grabs: the Riders’ title. Bagnaia will head to #TheDecider with a 23-point lead over Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™). A P14 or better finish will be enough, as Ducati look to cap off a wonderful campaign with the biggest accolade of them all – something they’ve been craving since 2007. If Bagnaia wins the MotoGP™ World Championship title in Valencia, the coveted Triple Crown will also be Ducati’s to boast.
A fascinatingly tense weekend lies ahead in Valencia. It’s been a phenomenal, record-breaking year already for Ducati, but the trophy they want still needs to be won.