Ducati: Max Biaggi Spills the Beans on Pecco Bagnaia

Max Biaggi spoke on the sidelines of free practice for the Austrian Grand Prix about Pecco Bagnaia’s deep slump: the Ducati rider faced the same difficulties at the Red Bull Ring as he did at Misano. “Personally, I don’t have a clear explanation. It’s a very confusing situation for me, too.”

The two-time world champion seems unrecognizable, and in free practice he was far behind the leaders: “I absolutely don’t believe anyone is working against him,” the Roman rider told GPOne regarding his difficult relationship with Ducati. “It’s a difficult time, where we keep going around in circles with the same problem without being able to break out of it. He needs to keep his feet on the ground and not let himself get carried away by events. Maybe a test could help him find a starting point, a foundation he knows can work.”

On Marc Marquez, now leading the World Championship after a great comeback: “A comeback like this definitely gives you courage, self-esteem, and confidence. We’ll see if Marco Bezzecchi and Jorge Martin can keep up until the end; then we’ll see what happens.”

The rider himself spoke despondently after free practice: “Unfortunately, this is my true potential right now; we need to work on it. I’m always struggling with the same issues—we didn’t work badly and we did our best, but I couldn’t do any better than that. That’s it—I go out on the track and do my best. The lack of grip affects everything—braking, corner entry, acceleration… That’s what we’re focusing on most and trying to improve. Will we make radical changes? I don’t think so,”