Ducati: More Barbs Between Bagnaia and Tardozzi: “He Wasn’t Able to Keep Up”

More jabs and friction in the Ducati factory team’s pit before the Misano Grand Prix. In an interview with Mundo Deportivo a few days ago, team manager Davide Tardozzi spoke candidly about the difficulties Pecco Bagnaia has faced over the past two seasons.

“Unfortunately, we weren’t able to find the balance he was looking for on the bike. He wasn’t able to keep up with the development we’ve been carrying out. I believe the reasons are undoubtedly technical and related to our approach to the new bikes; I don’t think Márquez had the slightest influence on Pecco’s performance.”

The two-time MotoGP world champion responded quite directly to Tardozzi during Thursday’s pre-Grand Prix press conference: “Up until 2024, Ducati had incredible potential. With the GP24, we’d be leading this World Championship.”

“Aprilia has certainly improved, but Ducati has taken a step backward, so if we don’t find something over the course of the weekend, they’ll be the favorites. I’m pretty convinced that we don’t need new things, but rather old ones—those are Bagnaia’s clear words—. “With the current bike, others are faster than me, so I have to adapt.”

Bagnaia is currently in eighth place in the MotoGP overall standings, with 143 points and 4 podium finishes. The Piedmontese rider trails Marc Marquez by nearly 100 points; Marquez is in second place with 137 points and is right in the thick of the World Championship battle. Unlike his teammate, the Catalan rider has won four Grand Prix races and has finished on the podium four other times so far.