Only nine riders have won a hat-trick of premier-class crowns in three quarters of a century of world championship racing: Marc Márquez, Valentino Rossi, Mick Doohan, Wayne Rainey, Kenny Roberts, Giacomo Agostini, Mike Hailwood, John Surtees and Geoff Duke. Now Pecco Bagnaia is on his way to entering that pantheon of pantheons and making it a nice, round ten.
The factory Ducati rider isn’t leading the championship — he’s still chasing down fellow GP24 rider Jorge Martin — but his current progress seems remorseless. At Assen he won his third-successive GP race and his second-consecutive sprint, making him the first rider to win both races at back-to-back GPs.
Second-placed Martin told us Bagnaia was “on another planet” around Assen and he wasn’t wrong. The Italian topped every session – he had never topped FP1 before! – won both races and set new lap and race records.
