Francesco Bagnaia is a multiple-time MotoGP champion and one of the best riders in a generation, so Full Oversteer has taken a look into everything that you need to know.
The world championship stage became home for Bagnaia through his Moto3 debut with San Carlo Team Italia at the 2013 season-opener, Grand Prix of Qatar. Four years later, also at the Lusail International Circuit, the Italian made the step up to Moto2 for Sky Racing Team VR46.
Bagnaia raced for the Moto2 crew of VR46 Racing Team as a product of the VR46 Academy founded by Valentino Rossi. He even became the first VR46 Academy graduate to win a title in MotoGP when Bagnaia achieved his first premier class championship with Ducati in 2022.
Francesco Bagnaia’s 2022 MotoGP title was Ducati’s first premier-class world championship in 15 years
Ducati moved Bagnaia into their factory rider line-up in 2021 and instantly saw him emerge as a MotoGP title contender. Bagnaia had spent two years in the premier class with Pramac riding a satellite Desmosedici, following his MotoGP debut at the 2019 Grand Prix of Qatar.
His experiences for Pramac and Ducati culminated in Bagnaia winning his first riders’ title in the 2022 MotoGP season by 17 points to Fabio Quartararo of Yamaha. He also won back-to-back titles after fending off Jorge Martin of Pramac for the 2023 MotoGP title by 39 points.
Winning the 2022 MotoGP title even made Bagnaia the first Ducati rider to win the premier class championship since Casey Stoner in 2007 and the first Italian rider since Rossi in 2009. Stoner and Bagnaia are the only riders to ever win a 500cc or MotoGP world championship.
It took Bagnaia until his first season for Ducati to win a MotoGP race at the 2021 Grand Prix of Aragon in Jerez. But it took Bagnaia until just his 24th premier-class entry to stand on the podium having secured second in the 2020 Grand Prix of San Marino and the Rimini Riviera.
Bagnaia had become accustomed to making the walk to the podium in Moto2 after winning the intermediate class title in 2018 for Sky Racing Team VR46. He won eight of the 18 races and stood on 12 podiums to beat Miguel Oliveira for the championship by only nine points.
Before lifting the 2018 Moto2 title, Bagnaia had only won two Grands Prix in his career with a pair of victories during the Italian’s last season in Moto3 in 2016. Joining Pull & Bear Aspar Mahindra Team for the 2016 Moto3 season helped Bagnaia claim wins at Assen and Sepang.
But who really is Bagnaia and what is the Ducati rider’s life outside of the MotoGP grid truly like? Full Oversteer has taken a look into everything that you need to know about Bagnaia…
Who is Ducati Corse rider Francesco Bagnaia?
Francesco Bagnaia is an Italian motorcycle racer currently competing for Ducati Corse in the MotoGP world championship. Ducati signed Bagnaia to their factory MotoGP team in 2021.
How old is Francesco Bagnaia? When was he born?
At the time of writing, Francesco Bagnaia is 27 years old and was born on January 14, 1997.
Where was Francesco Bagnaia born? What is his nationality?
Francesco Bagnaia was born in Turin, a historic city in north-west Italy. Turin is the capital city of the Piedmont region and had a population of 872,000 residents per its 2011 census.
How tall is Francesco Bagnaia? What is his height in feet?
Standing at a height of 1.76 metres tall, Francesco Bagnaia measures in at 5 ft 9 in feet.
Why is Francesco Bagnaia called ‘Pecco’?
While many fans may presume Francesco Bagnaia is called ‘Pecco’ as it is an abbreviation of his first name, the meaning behind the nickname is more special than that as it relates to his sister Carola Bagnaia. When Carola was very young, she struggled to pronounce ‘Francesco’.
“My sister is only 20 months older than me,” Bagnaia once explained about why he is called ‘Pecco’. “When we were young, calling me ‘Francesco’ was difficult for her. So, she was calling me, ‘Pecco, Pecco, Pecco!’ every morning, like this, and I liked it.”
Meet Francesco Bagnaia’s wife, Domizia Castagnini
Despite a rocky start to their relationship after Francesco Bagnaia crashed a car on their first date, the MotoGP rider married his long-term girlfriend Domizia Castagnini in 2024. Bagnaia lost control of his car while taking Castagnini home from a date at a Turin restaurant in 2016.
Castagnini is the niece of Juventus and Italy football legend, Gianfranco Leoncini, and was a friend of Bagnaia’s sister Carola before knowing Francesco. Domizia and Carola formed their friendship whilst in high school back in 2011, but she seldom crossed paths with Francesco.
Since crossing paths, Castagnini has been a big source of support for Bagnaia and they tied the knot in July 2024 with a star-studded wedding at the Pesaro Cathedral. Valentino Rossi, Luca Marini and Olympic high jump gold medallist Gianmarco Tamberi were on the guestlist.
Francesco Bagnaia’s net worth
Ducati and Francesco Bagnaia agreed on a contract extension in March 2024 which sees the Italian earn a reported basic salary of €7m (£6m) rising to €10m (£8.5m) after performance-based bonuses. Before his new contract, Bagnaia’s net worth was reported at €4m (£3.5m).
Why Francesco Bagnaia chose 63 as his permanent MotoGP race number
MotoGP started to use permanent race numbers for every rider in the 1993 500cc season as the scoring system stabilised. When Francesco Bagnaia graduated into MotoGP with Pramac in 2019, the Italian picked 63 as his permanent race number before embracing No1 in 2023.
Bagnaia became the first MotoGP rider since Casey Stoner in 2012 to run the No1 plate after winning his first premier class title in 2022. He was also only the fourth rider to switch to the No1 plate in the MotoGP era as Bagnaia sought to pay tribute to all other world champions.
Switching to the No1 plate meant Bagnaia temporarily shelved 63 as his permanent MotoGP race number. The Italian chose 63 when graduating to MotoGP in 2019 to follow his trend of choosing 21 after Troy Bayliss for Moto3 in 2013, before doubling it to 42 for Moto2 in 2017.
Prior to joining the world championship through Moto3 in 2013, Bagnaia had raced with the No41 plate on his bike as a lifelong fan of Noriyuki Haga. But Brad Binder edged Bagnaia to it as the South African selected 41 as his number to join Moto3 in 2012, plus in Moto2 in 2017.
What’s been said about Francesco Bagnaia? Is he any good?
Francesco Bagnaia has regularly proven he is one of the absolute best motorcycle racers in a generation since debuting in MotoGP and going on to become a multiple-time premier class champion. Consistency has often been his best weapon, too, with Bagnaia very metronomic.
Michael Laverty has also used words like ‘exceptional’ to praise Bagnaia, who Neil Hodgson has even lauded for producing ‘sensational’ results in MotoGP. His ability to dominate races in the pinnacle of the sport has also astounded Ducati Corse general manager Gigi Dall’Igna.
After Bagnaia won the 2024 MotoGP Grand Prix of Thailand, Dall’Igna professed: “Today we record the ninth win of the season for a formidable Pecco, his personal best. That says it all about the competitiveness of this year’s championship.
“He did absolutely nothing wrong in a very complicated race, conditioned by rain and on a wet track after two days of dry practice. He built a masterpiece, also thanks to the excellent post-warm-up work of the team.
“He managed the race in a masterly manner, biding his time to be at the ready, taking great risks to counter the comeback of his rivals, then sinking the blow that closed the deal once and for all: this is really world champion stuff.”
Francesco Bagnaia’s Grand Prix career racing stats
The Grand Prix of Qatar marked Francesco Bagnaia’s debut race in Moto3 in 2013, Moto2 in 2017 and MotoGP in 2019. It was also at the Lusail International Circuit that Bagnaia started his maiden MotoGP title-winning season in 2022, albeit by crashing, aboard a Ducati GP22.
2013 Moto3: 17 races, 0 wins, 0 podiums, 0 pole positions
2014 Moto3: 16 races, 0 wins, 0 podiums, 0 pole positions
2015 Moto3: 18 races, 0 wins, 1 podium, 0 pole positions
2016 Moto3: 18 races, 2 wins, 6 podiums, 1 pole position
2017 Moto2: 18 races, 0 wins, 4 podiums, 0 pole positions
2018 Moto2: 18 races, 8 wins, 12 podiums, 6 pole positions, 1 title
2019 MotoGP: 18 races, 0 wins, 0 podiums, 0 pole positions
2020 MotoGP: 11 races, 0 wins, 1 podium, 0 pole positions
2021 MotoGP: 18 races, 4 wins, 9 podiums, 6 pole positions
2022 MotoGP: 20 races, 7 wins, 10 podiums, 5 pole positions, 1 title
2023 MotoGP: 19 races, 7 wins, 4 Sprint wins, 15 podiums, 7 pole positions, 1 title
2024 MotoGP: 20 races, 11 wins, 16 podiums, 6 pole positions