Pecco Bagnaia, a never-ending slump: his appeal to Ducati’s data
Pecco Bagnaia remains the sour note on a Sunday that thrilled MotoGP fans and Italian supporters alike—whether they were rooting for Ducati (which triumphed once again at Aragon thanks to Marc Marquez) or cheering for Marco Bezzecchi, who finished on the podium after a duel with the Catalan rider that was destined to go down in history immediately. The crash of the No. 63 Desmosedici has almost faded into the background, while his statements at the end of the day are sure to spark debate. This is in addition to the remarks by Gigi Dall’Igna, who was blunt about his crisis.
“I think I’m going through one of the lowest points of my sporting career,” Bagnaia admitted to ‘Sky Sport’. “I’m giving it my all on the track, but that only gets me a tenth- or twelfth-place finish at best. Things I used to do easily a few years ago now seem impossible. Today I was practically stuck; I changed the map and the bike lost traction at the rear. Then, when it recovered, the front end closed up on me. When I try to push a little harder, I crash, but luckily there’s the data Ducati collects. And looking at that data, I can say I haven’t lost anything, because in the past I used to do the same things with ease that I can’t manage today. I say this even when comparing my issues with the data from other Ducati riders. But I’m an incurable optimist, and I remain convinced that at Misano I’ll have a bike that works for me. I’m as motivated as can be, even though it’ll be extremely difficult if conditions stay like this.”
Bagnaia’s day was, after all, already compromised from the start: the Piedmont native had finished Friday’s pre-qualifying in 13th place, more than a second off the best time set by Bezzecchi himself, and Saturday’s qualifying had relegated him to eighth on the grid. In short, it was a weekend that went from bad to worse, culminating in a crash at Turn 9 just a few laps into the race. As mentioned, Gigi Dall’Igna had been very clear about his slump. “We need to talk and figure out what happened. It’s a difficult time; we know it, and he knows it too. Today he failed to finish in the points, and we can’t be satisfied with that. But we have to stick together, because that’s the only way out of this: the team, the rider—all of us together,” Ducati Corse’s general manager had stated immediately after the race.
The world championship standings made Bagnaia’s Sunday even more bitter. The two-time world champion slips to eighth place with 143 points, a full 113 points behind leader Jorge Martin, who, with his 256 points, consolidates his lead despite a fifth-place finish in the GP. A comeback that, with six races remaining, appears mathematically possible but practically impossible.
Meanwhile, the weekend in Aragon further cemented Marc Marquez’s status. The reigning champion, with his eighth career victory at the MotorLand circuit, moves up to 237 points and is now just 19 points behind Martin, effectively reigniting a title battle that had seemed to be heading toward the Spanish Aprilia rider. It is significant that Marquez returned to victory after a summer break that began with a disappointing weekend at Silverstone, where he finished ninth in the Sprint Race and seventh in Sunday’s Grand Prix.
Bezzecchi, for his part, leaves Aragon with regrets but also with the knowledge that he put on a top-notch performance. The rider from Rimini, who started from pole position after setting a new track record of 1’45.455 in Friday’s pre-qualifying, led the opening laps before yielding to Marquez and then to Acosta. His third-place finish keeps him in contention for the title with 232 points, 24 behind the leader, although his physical condition remains precarious due to the knee issues he suffered before the summer break. It is precisely his tenacity in securing a podium finish despite everything that, ultimately, serves as the true counterpoint to Bagnaia’s slump: two Italians, two contrasting stories on a single Sunday in Spain.
