As Motorsport.com has learned, the Italian and the Bologna company intend to close the new agreement, in which practically only the signature is missing, even before the next MotoGP World Championship starts, in Qatar, on the 6th of March.
At 25 years old, Pecco Bagnaia has earned the right to be considered the spearhead of the red motorcycle company’s project, after winning four grand prix last year and accumulating a total of 9 podiums, and running for as the main alternative to Fabio Quartararo in the fight for the crown, which lasted until Misano, the penultimate stop on the calendar.
This season, the Turin rider is running as one of the main candidates to win the title, which would be the second for him after the one he already achieved in Moto2 (2018), and the second in Ducati history after which Casey Stoner was awarded in 2007.
“At the moment we are very close to renewing Pecco. If there is no surprise, it will end up being done. That must be the natural development of things,” Paolo Ciabatti, Ducati sports director, acknowledged this weekend in statements to Motorsport .com.
The extension of the contract will be logically linked to an increase in the emoluments that Bagnaia will receive. In 2021, his third season in the heavy motorcycle category, he earned a base salary of around 800,000 euros, an amount that ended up around one and a half million after complementing it with the item corresponding to good performance.
If the renewal of Bagnaia can practically be taken for granted, it is not so clear what will happen to Jack Miller, his current workshop neighbor. The Australian, whose agreement also expires at the end of this year, will have to show that he continues to be worthy of a seat in the garage of the official team, which Jorge Martín and even Enea Bastianini are also up for.
For this reason, Motorsport.com understands that those responsible for the Italian factory will give themselves a little more time before making a decision regarding that second Desmosedici GP22. If there is something that does seem clear, in any case, it is that Ducati does not consider resorting to the rider market, given the quality of the squad it has in MotoGP, where a third of the prototypes on the grid (eight of 24) they are yours.
