Ducati-Bagnaia Crisis: Uccio Takes It in Stride

VR46 team manager Alessio ‘Uccio’ Salucci spoke about Pecco Bagnaia and the challenges he’s facing in his final season with Ducati: “It really hurts to see him like this,” he told Sky Sport MotoGP.

“It seems like he’s forgotten how to ride, but that’s not the case. He needs to stay relaxed and calm and try to limit the damage, hoping this season ends as soon as possible. I see him struggling, and I feel so sorry for him; I don’t understand what’s not working. The relationship has definitely broken down; it’s not what it used to be—that’s plain for everyone to see.”

In recent weeks, there’s been a lot of talk about the off-air exchange between Pecco Bagnaia and Fabio Di Giannantonio: “Is the Ducati’s base setup better? As always, we’ve tried to improve, but instead we’ve taken a step backward. The bike that performs best in the end is always the same one. By now we’ve realized it’s better to stick with the base setup we’ve had all year and build on that.”

“It’s more about the rider braking later, entering the corner differently, and so on, rather than coming up with something different in terms of setup. We tried it, but fortunately we reversed course in time. Di Giannantonio has a good base this year—including his own personal setup—and he’s managed to get back into the top 10.”