Ducati, Pecco Bagnaia goes down flat: pre-Jerez statements ignite discussion

After years of absolute domination, Ducati is coming to terms with a start to the season that is anything but easy in MotoGp: in the three Sunday races, the Borgo Panigale manufacturer has achieved a third place at best (with Fabio Di Giannantonio in Brazil), while at the Sprint level only one success has come, with Marc Marquez, again in Goiania. Among the riders in trouble is Pecco Bagnaia, who on the eve of the Jerez de la Frontera weekend was anything but tender with his machine, thus reigniting the discussion.

“The DNA of the GP26 is the same as the GP25 – Bagnaia told Sky Sport, thus definitively contradicting last winter’s impressions -, which is why I can’t express myself one hundred percent. My strong point used to be the braking but because of the way the bike is made, I can’t exploit it anymore, I have to necessarily ride defensively. I would like to go back to the direction of 2024 in the next test, which we will run here on Monday: it’s not just my problem, there are other riders who have the same impressions as me.”

Bagnaia, in the first three races, has collected just 25 points and is ninth in the overall standings: in Texas, in the last race before the long forced stop (due to the postponement of the Qatar GP in November), Pecco had obtained an encouraging second place in the Sprint, behind Jorge Martin, but in the Sunday race he was forced to chase from the start, finishing in a disappointing tenth place.

Although there have been no official announcements yet, there is no shortage of signs of a farewell to Ducati from Bagnaia himself: at the end of the year, a move to Aprilia seems to be looming, with a multi-year contract that will free up a place in the official Ducati team (for which Pedro Acosta is favored). The official announcement is expected in the coming weeks, most likely in early summer.