Pecco Bagnaia told he'd never race again - then Valentino Rossi swooped in...

Double MotoGP world champion Pecco Bagnaia’s father has revealed how his son was left “depressed” early in his grand prix career before Valentino Rossi stepped in.

The Italian made his grand prix debut in 2013 with Team Italia on an FTR Honda, though failed to score any points.

In 2014, he linked up with the VR46 Academy set up by MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi that year and joined his team in Moto3 on a KTM before moving to Mahindra in 2015.

Still associated with the VR46 Academy despite his move to the Aspar squad, Pecco Bagnaia would rejoin the VR46 team in Moto2 from 2017 and was crowned world champion in 2018.

Moving to MotoGP the following year, Bagnaia would win back-to-back premier class titles in 2022 and 2023 with Ducati - making him the first VR46 rider to do so.

But at the start of his grand prix career, his time with Team Italia almost derailed him.

Valentino Rossi credited with rescuing Pecco Bagnaia

In a podcast hosted by paddock veteran Manuel Pecino, Pietro Bagnaia - Pecco’s father - revealed that Team Italian “didn’t teach anything” to his son and he pushed him to test for Mahindra despite threats that he “would never race again”.

“They didn’t teach anything and were always all angry,” Pietro Bagnaia told Pecino’s podcast.

“So, I pushed for him to do a test with Mahindra thanks to the contribution of my friend Lele Martinelli, who was working with the Indian brand at the time.

“A team manager told me that if Pecco did that test he would never race again.

“I signed the release [from Team Italia] and accepted the consequences, but at that very moment the VR46 Academy was taking shape.

“Uccio [Salucci, Rossi’s right-hand man] proposed to me to join the project that was in its infancy and Pecco was overjoyed to be a part of it.

“He went from being depressed back to being enthusiastic about motorcycle racing.

“So began the journey with the Sky [VR46] team.”

Rossi’s VR46 Academy, set up in 2014 to help nurture young Italian talent, has been instrumental in the careers of so many.

As well as Bagnaia, Franco Morbidelli won a Moto2 title in 2017 before stepping up to MotoGP, where he became the Academy’s first premier class race winner in 2020.

Others to have followed them into MotoGP were Luca Marini and Marco Bezzecchi.

Rossi’s VR46 team stepped up to MotoGP in 2022 as a Ducati satellite.