Pecco Bagnaia, a never-ending crisis: a major problem has been identified

There’s no rest for Pecco Bagnaia. The three-time world champion, despite high expectations heading into the San Marino and Rimini Riviera Grand Prix—which takes place on the Misano Adriatico circuit, a track he knows like the back of his hand—finished the pre-qualifying session in 19th place, more than one second and three-tenths behind Marco Bezzecchi’s fastest time, about eight-tenths behind the tenth-place spot that would have guaranteed direct access to Saturday’s Q2, and ahead of only two riders—Pramac Team riders Jack Miller and Toprak Razgatlioglu on Yamaha.

Back in the Ducati pit, Bagnaia spoke at length about a major handling issue he encountered during the session: when changing direction, the Piedmont native repeatedly struggled to control his Desmosedici GP26, even risking a crash on several occasions. This was a problem his teammate Marc Marquez, however, did not encounter; Marquez finished the second session behind only Bezzecchi, trailing by 103 thousandths of a second.

Bagnaia’s difficulties thus continue; upon his arrival at Misano, he had already spoken harshly about the 2025 and 2026 bikes, with which he has never found the right feel. “The GP24’s potential was unbeatable,” he had said, in no uncertain terms, when meeting with the media at the circuit dedicated to the memory of Marco Simoncelli. “ “If there were four GP24s today, we’d be the top four in the World Championship.”

Bagnaia’s words seemed like a direct response to internal criticism following the Aragon Grand Prix: the official team’s manager, Davide Tardozzi, had spoken openly of a “psychological problem” and a lack of confidence, while general manager Gigi Dall’Igna had described the Piedmontese rider’s performance as “the only sour note” in an otherwise perfect weekend, marked by Marc Marquez’s double victory.