Ducati’s Pecco Bagnaia returns for a second bite of the home race cherry after a dominant victory last time out and with the MotoGP championship at stake.

Bagnaia sits 52 points adrift of Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo coming in to the Emilia Romagna GP, so he must win on Sunday to keep his title hopes alive. Having already claimed two victories this season, the last one at this very circuit, it’s not an unreasonable request, but his rival’s consistency, and seemingly unflappable nature provides a formidable adversary.

“For me, the only thing that I can do is win, to try to stay in the fight for the championship," Bagnaia said on Thursday. “We know that 52 points are a lot, but we will try. Still, we have the possibility so we will try.

"To be back racing at Misano after the stunning victory that I took here in front of my home crowd a month ago is definitely very exciting! That weekend everything was perfect, and the two days of post-race testing were very positive for us. Nevertheless, we have to stay focused. Our rivals will come to this Grand Prix much better prepared, and the track conditions will be different, with lower track temperatures.

“Will be different this weekend because it looks like it can rain Friday, Saturday, so working for the race can be more difficult but let's see. For sure, this weekend I have to go all in and try to make something. It will be essential to work well from the first sessions. The objective will be to fight for the win and keep the Championship open until the end.”

Bagnaia’s 2021 season has gone from strength to strength, after a slow but steady start to his MotoGP career.

“Our ambition is always to improve every time,” he continued. “Looking at my last two seasons in MotoGP was not the year to try to win the championship, because I was struggling a lot in the past years - I crashed a lot and I broke my tibia last year so I had problems.

“This year, the objective was to continue my growing and I think that after the summer break, we did a step in front and then the last races another one. So, I'm happy with the work we are doing this year, in the last races, but for sure the work we are doing this year can be better for next year.”