Pecco Bagnaia sixth but happy: "It’s not like last year"

In the Sprint Race of the Catalan Grand Prix, round of the 2026 MotoGP World Championship staged in Barcelona, Pecco Bagnaia finished in sixth place at the end of a comeback race. The rider of the factory Ducati, who started from thirteenth position after difficult qualifying, managed to make up ground in a Sprint dominated by Alex Márquez on the Ducati Gresini, ahead of Pedro Acosta and Fabio Di Giannantonio.

Intervened at the microphones of Sky Sport, Bagnaia took stock of the team’s moment and the sensations on the saddle of the Desmosedici: “Compared to last year, the approach is different. Before I was thinking about giving everything, while now I’m really trying to do it. We started the season with some problems because this bike is still complicated to interpret. At the moment we have not found an effective basic set-up at every circuit. Di Giannantonio has succeeded and is in fact consistently in the top positions. Even today, however, we took a step forward.”

The Piedmontese champion highlighted how tire management played an important role in the Catalan Sprint: “It was not an easy race, especially because of tire degradation. Despite this we managed to maintain a good pace until the end and we continue to work in the right direction. Our potential is higher than we have shown so far.”

Bagnaia went on to explain what the main critical issues are with his Ducati at the moment: “The main problem of the weekend was grip with new tires. With used tires I can be competitive, while at the beginning I struggle to find traction and speed. I lose a lot especially in Turns 5, 9 and 14. We are looking for solutions to make the bike more effective and get closer to the performance of the other Ducati riders.”

Finally, the two-time world champion pointed out an aspect that could make a difference in the longer races: “One of my strengths is the ability to preserve the front tire more, and on this track that can be an important advantage. The consumption of the rear depends a lot on how hard you push in the early laps. If I can manage the initial phase, then in the second part of the race I can increase the pace and make up positions. In Le Mans the main problem was the start. We keep working and I am convinced that we will soon be back in front.”