Bagnaia: The first MotoGP and WorldSBK champion? I look at Wikipedia a lot

No rider has yet been crowned world champion in both MotoGP and World Superbike.

16 Dec 2023

At just 26 years of age, Francesco Bagnaia not only has two MotoGP titles to his name already but rides for a manufacturer, Ducati, that has won the last two World Superbike championships, with Alvaro Bautista.

Unlike some of his peers, Pecco is an avid student of motorcycle racing history and admits he could be tempted to try and become the first king of both prototype and production racing… one day.

“I think about it every now and then,” GPone.com quotes Bagnaia as saying. “I like looking at the numbers and statistics at the end of a season, Wikipedia is a page I consult a lot!

“I’d like to win in Superbike too, but there is time.”

Bagnaia, the first MotoGP rider to defend the #1 plate since Mick Doohan in 1998, will set his sights on a third premier-class crown in 2024.

Troy Bayliss, Colin Edwards, Nicky Hayden, James Toseland and Ben Spies are among the riders to have attempted the MotoGP & WorldSBK double, by switching classes with a title in one class already under their belts.

But Max Biaggi has arguably come closest, winning four 250GP titles and then two WorldSBK crowns. In between, Biaggi was also 500cc/MotoGP world championship runner-up in 1998, 2001 and 2002.