Bagnaia crashed out of the lead of the MotoGP Grand Prix of the Americas, ﷽also costing himself the ⭕lead in the championship.

It was a disastrous remind🅷er of last season when Bagnaia failed to finish five times, although he recovered to claim a maiden title.

“I’m a big fan of his, he’s very fast 🌜and he pushes hard,” MotoGP legend Rainey, a three-time champion, said.

“Sometimes I know h๊e falls, but what he did last year? To come from so far back in the points to charge and win all those races…

“He has taken thꦛat Ducati and is getting everything he can out 𓆉of it. He has the factory seat, so if there is any advantage from the equipment, I think he has the best package.

“But there are a l🌠ot of good riders out ther♒e. There are a lot of good Ducatis.

“Bastianini is coming - ‘The Beast’! He wan꧑ts to show that ‘I need to be the guy’.

“It will be a good rivalry as it unfo🧸ld🧔s. Then there is everybody else.

“He will feel the pressure, there𒀰 will be a lot of riders nipping at him. It will be fun to watch.”

Bagnaia’s factory Ducati teammate Basti🌄anini is expected to make his return from injury at the fourth round in Jerez on April 30.

His step-up from Gresini to the factory team got off to the most unfortunate possible start whe🍒n, in the first-ever sprint race which Bagnaia won, Bastianini was wiped out by a fellow Ducati rider, Luca Marini.

He avoided surgery on a broken shoulder blade but has missed all three grands prꦚix as a result, and is stuck on zero points, 64 behind cha𝄹mpionship leader Marco Bezzecchi.

The rivalry between the two factory Ducati riders was a key theme heading into 2023 b⛦𒈔ut, due to Bastianini’s early crash, it hasn’t yet begun.

Now Bastianini is set to 🍸return🧸 at a time when Bagnaia may feel at his most vulnerable, after a seemingly unforced crash in America.