Ducati boss Davide Tardozzi has claimed that Francesco Bagnaia is “outclassing” Casey Stoner’s MotoGP achievements.
Going into the season finale, Bagnaia is 24 points behind Jorge Martin, with the Italian looking to win three MotoGP championships in succession.
Bagnaia currently has three titles across all categories and has a chance to overtake Stoner in the MotoGP all-time championship list. Both riders have won two in the sport’s pinnacle class.
The 2024 season has seen Bagnaia eclipse Stoner’s win, podium and pole records for Ducati and is now its most successful rider.
Stoner’s 2007 championship-winning year saw the Australian win 10 out of the 18 races, whereas Bagnaia is on course to win at least half of the 20 races this season.
The contrast in bike performance throughout both riders’ tenures differs but raises the question of whether Bagnaia is truly “outclassing” Stoner.
“I have to say what bothers me a little is that Pecco has won half the races and is second in the championship,” Tardozzi told Motorsport.
“This is something that should and must give us pause for thought for the future.
“We have made a few too many mistakes in the races, it must not be like that in the near future. But to have a rider who has won half the races is something important.
“Pecco is making history, right now he is outclassing a great guy like Casey Stoner, so thank you Pecco!”
Ducati insists on fair treatment in 2024 title race
Despite Bagnaia bolstering his CV and accumulating all the records for Ducati, the factory team has insisted on fair treatment in the 2024 title fight.
Ducati made a U-turn earlier in the year and signed Marc Marquez over Martin for 2025.
Martin’s hefty advantage could see the Spaniard take the #1 plate off Ducati to one of its main rivals, Aprilia, for 2025.
Tardozzi praised Martin and his new approach for 2024 after he opened up about his mental battles from the title fight last season.
“It is clear that we live this fight honestly by giving Martin all the support we can,” Tardozzi said.
“As his crew chief said, he doesn’t have a pin less than Pecco and he also has the total support of Gigi Dall’Igna and his engineers.
“After last year when he lost the championship, Jorge was very good at understanding that he needed help on the emotional side.
“I think last winter he made great progress mentally and he is putting it into practice.
“It is no coincidence that he is the leader of the world championship, when it comes to settling for it, he is satisfied, something he would not have done last year or in the past.
“You simply have to say ‘chapeau’ to Jorge Martin.”
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