Controversy was sparked in this week by 2022 MotoGP world champion and current champion leader Francesco ‘Pecco’ Bagnaia. Bagnaia stated in an interview that there needs to be a bigger gap between the factory racing tames and independents in the MotoGP championship. He expressed safety concerns as well as concerns with pace when compared to the factory production bikes. His comments were puzzling to the President of the Teams’ Association (IRTA) President Herve Poncharal has responded to the comments from Bagnaia in a French publication Paddock GP:
“What I think about it is that, often on Sunday evening when I go home before going to bed, I have not lived enough MotoGP, so I read everything that is written on all the national and international websites, and I came across an Italian website where there was an interview with Pecco Bagnaia who was talking a little bit about his problem with Maverick Viñales.”
“And then I was reading like that and I was very surprised from the reigning World Champion, from someone who is respectable, I have a lot of respect and admiration for him, and he is always quite calm in his comments, to read an enormous thing, I could even say huge bullshit, because Pecco Bagnaia, like any rider, comes from Moto3, he went through Moto2, he arrived in MotoGP in an Independent Team that you can call private or satellite.”
“You can call it whatever you want, and he was happy to have a high performance bike that allowed him to be noticed. And then, as he progressed in the MotoGP class, he was offered a factory ride, which is kind of the dream ride that every talented rider wants to have.”
Poncharal Continued his Thoughts
“As you have noticed, the first four positions at the French Grand Prix were four Independent teams, and it is fabulous to see that the race for the title is wide open, that there is a point between Bezzecchi who is a young rider, who wins on a private team Ducati bike and who is one point behind Bagnaia on the official bike from the same factory. It’s great for everyone, it’s great for the sport, it’s a great emulation and it allows us, the Independent teams, to convince our partners, that we can call sponsors too, to join us because we tell them that we’re not just here to fill the grid but that we’re also here to perform! We can win races and eventually go for the title.”