Behind the Scenes at Ducati-Bagnaia: Off-the-Record Comments with Di Giannantonio Cause a Stir

New details about the tense situation between Pecco Bagnaia and Ducati have emerged in a behind-the-scenes report by DAZN Spain: after the disastrous race at Misano, before the interviews, the two-time MotoGP world champion had a brief conversation with Fabio Di Giannantonio.

The off-the-record exchange was captured by the Spanish broadcaster and revealed further details about the challenging period Bagnaia is currently going through. “I brake with the clutch engaged. I use whatever they tell me to use; I’ve tried everything. Believe me, for me, soft and medium tires make no difference up front—it’s all exactly the same, even when the tire is worn,” a disheartened Bagnaia told the Roman rider.

Di Giannantonio asked him why he doesn’t change the bike’s setup, and Bagnaia’s reply was blunt: “They won’t let me.”

In the interview that later aired on Sky, the Piedmontese rider explained dejectedly that he had no solutions: “The team is doing everything they can to help me, but unfortunately I’m not feeling comfortable, and I don’t understand why certain things aren’t working for me anymore—especially when braking, entering corners, and through the turns. We have to accept reality: right now, we’re at the level of ninth or tenth place, and we have to start over from there. If I keep crashing, it’s because I’m pushing until the very end, and I’ll keep doing that in Austria too. Will it be like last year at Motegi? It depends. On what, though, I won’t say. But it depends. Austria is a beautiful track; up until two years ago, I had a lot of great weekends there, so I hope to do well there too.”