At the Sepang test, I interviewed Cristian Gabarrini, crew chief to Pecco Bagnaia. Bagnaia and Gabarrini were preparing to defend the Italian's first title in MotoGP, and Ducati's first MotoGP crown since Casey Stoner's back in 2007. A championship in which Gabarrini had also played a major role, as Stoner's crew chief. What I wanted to ask Gabarrini was how he was going to approach this defense of the MotoGP crown.
In Valencia, ahead of the final MotoGP event of the 2023 season, I got the chance to follow up on that interview, and ask Gabarrini how this season had played out. When I spoke to him on Thursday, the title was still in play, though Bagnaia went into the last weekend with a useful, though not insurmountable lead of 21 points. Bagnaia started the weekend as favorite, and would make good on his status, becoming the first Ducati rider to ever successfully defend a title with a victory in the last race of the year.
In many ways, that final weekend was emblematic for Bagnaia's entire season. The factory Ducati rider lost 7 points on Saturday, finishing fifth in the sprint race which was won by title rival Jorge Martin. But Bagnaia emerged victorious by a calm and considered race on the Sunday, by looking after his tires and having something extra at the end of race to hold off challenges by Fabio Di Giannantonio and Johann Zarco.
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