Pecco Bagnaia doesn’t beat around the bush: Ducati will copy Gresini
Pecco Bagnaia experienced another Sunday to forget in Jerez, where he was forced to retire on lap 14 of the Spanish Grand Prix after a promising second place in the Sprint Race run on Saturday. Ducati chose the line of secrecy on the causes, with the Piedmontese rider in turn not exposing himself on the issue. Rather, he focused on the tests scheduled from Monday, with the admission that the Factory Team may find itself having to “copy” the technical solutions of the Gresini house, after Alex Marquez’s convincing victory.
“During the break, Team Gresini worked very well – stressed Bagnaia speaking to ‘Sky Sport’ -. We will try to take us a little ahead by trying their solutions on the track. They were fundamental for the victory of Alex Marquez, who was very good here in Jerez right from the start. This aspect plays very much in Ducati’s favor, which brought us some work to do during testing. They will certainly be able to help us on something.”
On the reason for the withdrawal, however, Bagnaia revealed as little as possible. However, he isolated the problem to three hypotheses, presented at the time of his interview: tire puncture, rim puncture or braking system problem. “Yes, the problem is one of these three,” admitted the Ducati centaur. “The team is working to analyze everything, already now it is clear that the problem was at the front. In any case, we are already quite sure about one fact, we found a problem that will not be repeated.”
Bagnaia’s retirement fits into a decidedly worrying overall picture for Team Ducati Lenovo. Indeed, that of Jerez represents the ninth consecutive race without podiums for the factory team, the worst fast for more than 12 years. Bagnaia and box-mate Marc Marquez have not been on the podium since the Japanese Grand Prix of 2025, a day that coincided with the conquest of the world title by rider number 93.
The factory team’s black Sunday was also aggravated by the fall of Marc Marquez, who slipped on the second lap when he was occupying second position after being overtaken by his brother Alex. The world champion analyzed the incident with some philosophy: “If you fall it’s because you did something wrong. Normally 90 percent of the falls are the fault of the rider, but with some falls it is better not to look for the why. In one and a half laps it is complicated to understand the conditions, I was looking for feeling; Alex overtook me, I wanted to fight for my goal which was fourth or third position. My throttle closed, I didn’t even try to hold it, in those situations the gravel is better.”
Marquez also admitted that his current level of competitiveness is not yet that of a podium contender, realistically projecting himself toward the next rounds: “This weekend I was worth fourth to fifth position. I took pole and won the Sprint, but in both cases under very special circumstances. We have to grow little by little as a bike-driver package.” A growth that, in the team’s intentions, should find new stimuli precisely in Monday’s tests in Jerez.
Benefiting from the double defeat of the factory Ducati was above all Marco Bezzecchi, who with the second place conquered behind Alex Marquez retained the lead in the overall standings, now taking a 44-point lead over Marc Marquez. The Aprilia rider, back from a crash in Saturday’s Sprint Race, gritted his teeth even in less than optimal physical condition: “I’m very happy: it was a great race, today it was important to make up for it after yesterday’s Sprint. Alex was simply too fast today, congratulations to him. I did my best, I gave it my all.” For Bagnaia and his team, therefore, Monday’s tests represent not only a technical opportunity, but a real race against time to not lose further ground in the standings.
