Italian · Turin, Italy · Born 14 January 1997Italian MotoGP rider and two-time world champion, known for his precision, racecraft and dominant performances with Ducati in the premier class
Francesco "Pecco" Bagnaia was born on 14 January 1997 in Turin, Italy, and began racing Minimoto bikes from a young age, winning the European MiniGP championship in 2009 before progressing through the Spanish and pre-Grand Prix junior categories. Bagnaia joined Valentino Rossi's VR46 Riders Academy as one of its initial recruits, moving from Turin to Pesaro in his late teens, and won the 2018 Moto2 World Championship before graduating to MotoGP's premier class. Bagnaia signed with Ducati and won back-to-back MotoGP World Championships in 2022 and 2023, becoming the first rider from Rossi's VR46 Academy to win a title in the premier class, and delivering Ducati's first World Championship in 15 years — the first for an Italian rider since Rossi himself in 2009. Bagnaia has continued to compete for the Ducati Lenovo Team, remaining one of the most successful Italian motorcycle racers of his generation and a central figure in Ducati's sustained dominance of MotoGP throughout the 2020s.
MotoGP World Champion and Ducati's star rider
How They Played
Aggressive and precise rider known for strong race pace and late-race comebacks
Lasting Impact
Modern MotoGP champion who helped establish Ducati's dominance in premier class
Career Honours
- MotoGP World Champion 2022
- MotoGP World Champion 2023
- Moto2 World Champion 2018
- MotoGP Italian Grand Prix Winner 2021
- MotoGP Aragon Grand Prix Winner 2021
- MotoGP San Marino Grand Prix Winner 2021
- MotoGP Algarve Grand Prix Winner 2021
- MotoGP Emilia Romagna Grand Prix Winner 2022
- MotoGP French Grand Prix Winner 2022
- MotoGP Catalan Grand Prix Winner 2022
- MotoGP Austrian Grand Prix Winner 2022
- MotoGP Aragon Grand Prix Winner 2022
- MotoGP Japanese Grand Prix Winner 2022
- MotoGP Malaysian Grand Prix Winner 2022
- MotoGP Valencia Grand Prix Winner 2022
Italian Athletes