Francesco Bagnaia Enters The Elite Ranks Of MotoGP Racers

JAKARTA Francesco Bagnaia has officially entered the ranks of the iconic MotoGP race elite after winning the new Grand Prix in Japan last weekend.

The defending champion continued his good performance with the dominant performance in Japan to win his eighth win in this season's calendar.

Bagnaia's outstanding performance over the weekend made Bagnaia not only cut the gap with Jorge Martin to 10 points, but also confirmed his name with other great riders.

Results at the Motegi Twin Ring Circuit brought Bagnaia to join the sports icons, such as Casey Stoner, Marc Marquez, Valentino Rossi, and Jorge Lorenzo.

He equaled the achievement of these names as racers who were able to win at least eight wins in one season of competition from the world's most prestigious motorcycle racing event.

Bagnaia may still be able to increase the number of wins in this season's calendar. The reason is, there are still four series left, namely Australia, Thailand, Malaysia, and Valencia.

Another win will bring Bagnaia to match Lorenzo's nine wins in 2010. The other two wins will see him match Stoner in the 2007 and 2011 seasons.

If you win three wins in the remaining four rounds, Bagnaiai will automatically be on par with his mentor, Valentino Rossi, who won 11 wins in 2002 and 2005.

Meanwhile, until now the record for the most wins in MotoGP is still held by prospective Bagnaia teammates next year, namely Marc Marquez, who collected 13 wins throughout 2014.

Currently Bagnaia sits in second place in the drivers' standings with 382 points. He is in the same place behind Jorge Martin who fills the first position.