MotoGP, Assen: Pecco Bagnaia Forced to Retire: What Happened to the Ducati Rider

The Dutch MotoGP Grand Prix has been decidedly unlucky for the Italian riders: after Marco Bezzecchi’s nasty crash early on, Pecco Bagnaia also had to throw in the towel, this time due to a technical issue on the 16th lap. Ranked fourth at that point, Bagnaia appeared unable to apply the front brake properly: after briefly running off the track onto the paved run-off area, he returned to the track and headed straight for the pit lane.

Ducati’s engineers are already at work trying to figure out what went wrong and why Bagnaia had to end the main race at the Assen circuit with a “zero.” Sunday’s race marked Bagnaia’s first retirement after four races (plus Saturday’s Sprint) in which he had consistently scored points, finishing third in the main races at Barcelona, Mugello, Balaton Park, and Brno, and winning the Sprint race at the Czech track.

This is Bagnaia’s final year riding for Ducati: the Piedmont native has in fact reached an agreement with Aprilia for the next four years and will, among other things, be Marco Bezzecchi’s teammate, since Jorge Martin will also be packing his bags at the end of the season to join the Yamaha project.