Pecco Bagnaia, new problem with Ducati: "Why don’t I start well anymore?"
Pecco Bagnaia ends a bitter Saturday at Mugello with seventh place in the Sprint Race, a result heavily affected by the less-than-effective start of the number 63 Ducati. And it was precisely this aspect that the Piedmontese rider focused on at the end of the day, pointing out that his recovery in the saddle of the Desmosedici GP26 is being accompanied by a problem that continues to be unresolved in this period in which for him one difficulty seems to pull the other.
“You have to understand why I can no longer get a start right – Bagnaia complained after the checkered flag -. I have always been very fast at the start, it was one of my strengths. Now instead, for some reason, I impenetrable a lot and this makes me lose a lot of time. Only in the stages of the start I take four tenths from Marc, an enormity.” The internal confrontation with Marc Marquez thus resists, at a time when, however, optimism in the Ducati household is on the upswing.
“For tomorrow we have some ideas, we have to work on them. I have very clear data, what we need is a little more grip. Also because in the race, without traffic, I was also going fast. This Ducati has the potential to do well, I have to find a way to do better myself. And in the race, if I start properly, I can close in the top four,” is the promise with which Bagnaia concluded.
Making Bagnaia’s seventh place even more bitter is the context of the Sprint Race as a whole: the Mugello short race went to Raul Fernandez, who from second on the grid dominated with his Aprilia Trackhouse, finishing more than a second ahead of Jorge Martin and three seconds ahead of Fabio Di Giannantonio, third on the podium with the Ducati of the VR46 team. Fourth was Marco Bezzecchi, the World Championship leader with 148 points ahead of Martin (136) and Di Giannantonio himself (123). Bagnaia, therefore, also found himself behind Marc Marquez, fifth, and Fermin Aldeguer, sixth with the Ducati Gresini.
The problem with the start is nothing new for the Piedmontese rider at this time of the season. Valentino Rossi, who often shares training sessions with Bagnaia, had already raised the issue weeks ago from the Barcelona paddock: “In Le Mans he had a Madonna weekend. He won the pole, then he missed both starts, otherwise he could have won both races.” Words that photograph with surgical precision the Achilles’ heel of the Piedmontese champion at this stage of the season.
The comparison with Marquez, on the other hand, appears all the more significant when one considers that the reigning world champion is far from being in the best physical condition. The Spaniard, who returned to Mugello after operations on his right foot and shoulder, admitted Friday that he does not yet feel ready to fight for the top-5, complaining of muscle weakness and difficulty in right turns and changes of direction. Yet despite these obvious limitations, Marquez was ahead of Bagnaia both in qualifying – fourth versus sixth – and in the Sprint. A fact that weighs, and that Pecco knows well.
Bagnaia’s delicate moment fits into a larger picture that also concerns his future in Ducati. Again Rossi, speaking in Barcelona, had hinted that the relationship between the rider and the Borgo Panigale factory had cooled after last season: “Pecco will probably no longer be in Ducati next year,” the founder of the VR46 team had said, hoping, however, that both parties would continue to work hard until the end. In this context, Sunday’s long race at Mugello takes on a value that goes far beyond just the points at stake.
