MotoGP: Francesco Bagnaia completes title defence as Martin crashes out

After a dramatic final round, Francesco Bagnaia has been crowned the 2023 MotoGP World Champion.

Francesco Bagnaia has been crowned the MotoGP World Champion for the second consecutive season. He becomes the first rider to defend the number one plate since Mick Doohan and the first in the MotoGP era.

After a tense year, MotoGP headed to Valencia for the final round of the 20-weekend season. Martin won the Sprint on Saturday after a brilliant ride, reducing Bagnaia’s lead after he finished in fifth.

The title went down to the final race of the season, with Bagnaia leading Jorge Martin by 14 points. Bagnaia was promoted to pole after a penalty for Maverick Vinales after the Aprilia rider ignored the mechanical flag in the warm-up. Martin would start in sixth with an uphill task for the final battle of the year.

Martin made a near-perfect start to the race and slotted in second position – ready to battle with Bagnaia. However, Martin ran wide at turn one and dropped back to eighth position. After a couple of laps, Martin’s hopes came crashing down after he made contact with eight-time World Champion Marc Marquez.

The Prima Pramac Ducati rider crashed out of the race and handed Bagnaia the crown this year. Bagnaia was notified but continued to push to claim his seventh win of the 2023 season.

Bagnaia won seven Sunday races this season – identical to his Championship winner year in 2022. In total, Bagnaia took a total of 15 podiums and seven pole positions with the Ducati Lenovo Team. It’s his most successful season in the MotoGP class and Ducati’s third title since re-joining MotoGP in 2003.

Speaking about an incredible season, Bagnaia said: “I’m super happy, more than this is impossible, also because we won the race so it’s fantastic. I want to say a big thanks to all the team, they did an amazing job, from Barcelona. It was quite tough for us, but we deserved this title more than anyone.

“I didn’t see anything behind me, I was thinking Jorge was still in the race, and I was quite scared about that. I just was thinking of winning the race because it was the best way to finish the season.”

It has also been an incredible year for Ducati, winning the MotoGP, WorldSBK, and British Superbike Championships in 2023.

The now two-time World Champion will test the 2024 machine on Tuesday at the Valencia pre-season test. The factory Ducati camp will stay the same, but Martin will have a new teammate next year in the form of Franco Morbidelli.

Image credit: Ducati Media