Italian rider claims MotoGP title in 50-year first

2 years ago 70

Francesco Bagnaia finished ninth successful the season-ending Valencia Grand Prix to go the archetypal Italian MotoGP champion since Valentino Rossi successful 2009.

Spaniard Alex Rins won the contention successful Valencia, portion Bagnaia's closest competitor, Fabio Quartararo, was 4th to decorativeness 17 points down successful the standings aft blowing a large pb from aboriginal successful the season.

The defending champion was 91 points up aft the archetypal 9 races but saw his pb erode away.

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The 25-year-old Bagnaia won 7 races, including 4 successful a enactment astatine 1 point.

"World champion - it sounds good," Bagnaia said afterwards.

“The hardest contention of my life.

“I was struggling. My purpose was to beryllium successful the apical five, but I started to conflict aft a fewer laps, but the astir important happening is that we won the championship. It’s a truly large day.”

A Ducati rider has not won a rubric since Casey Stoner successful 2007. It's besides been 50 years since an Italian rider won a MotoGP rubric with an Italian bike.

In July, Bagnaia's aboriginal successful MotoGP was up successful the aerial aft blowing 3 times implicit the ineligible humor intoxicant limit pursuing a car clang successful Ibiza.

Rins’ triumph astatine location came successful his farewell from Suzuki - the Japanese constructor retracting their engagement successful MotoGP.

Earlier, Spaniard Augusto Fernández claimed the Moto2 title.

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