Bagnaia struggled with shoulder in Jerez win

Francesco Bagnaia was physically ailing during his Grand Prix of Spain victory but believes he is now in the "best shape" on Ducati's 2022 bike.

Bagnaia finished last season with four wins in six races – his first victories in MotoGP™ – only to make a slow start to the new campaign.

The Ducati man had not reached the podium this year heading into Sunday's race at Jerez, but pole position in qualifying set him up to end that run.

Indeed, Bagnaia led from start to finish, holding off defending champion and season leader Fabio Quartararo.

It was not as comfortable a ride as it may have seemed, however, as Bagnaia revealed afterwards he is still dealing with a shoulder injury suffered in a qualifying crash in Portugal.

"I was very worried about the race because this morning in the warm-up I was without painkillers, and I was struggling," he said

"But then Clinica Mobile always has something good to give to you, and that helped me.

"Just the last part of the race was difficult because all the braking is in the right apart from the last corner. Turn 6 was very difficult to stop the bike because it was like someone was putting pressure on my [shoulder], and it was painful."

But having returned to winning ways, Bagnaia heads into the rest of the season on a high.

"For sure we are back in best shape, not physically but in terms of my riding," he added. "I want to get home and recover because I think that today we have finally found what we were missing."

He. Is. Back! #SpanishGP 🇪🇸#ForzaDucati #DucatiLenovoTeam #MotoGP @PeccoBagnaia | @MotoGP pic.twitter.com/wnvuqtACb8

— Ducati Corse (@ducaticorse) May 1, 2022