Pecco Bagnaia in Misano smiles after the'nightmare: "The direction is the right one"

Pecco Bagnaia in Misano experienced another nightmarish weekend, yet another rainbow appointment to forget of a 2025 that is representing for him an ordeal without solution. The Grand Prix of San Marino saw on Saturday the victory of the Sprint Race by compatriot Marco Bezzecchi on Aprilia, on Sunday the’nth success of teammate in Ducati, Marc Marquez. Instead, the Piedmontese rider had to accept a haul of 0 points, putting off any talk until Monday’s test day. At the end of which he still chose to keep a low profile.

Curious to note that Bagnaia, while confirming the eighth place in qualifying for the San Marino Grand Prix, managed to lap even a second faster on Monday than on Sunday. And after the long summit he had with Ducati technicians and engineers already after the Misano race, on Monday he seemed somewhat refreshed without, however, wanting to expose himself too much. “I can&#8211t say anything too specific – he explained to the press present at the Romagna circuit – In any case, today it was important not to try new parts, as much as to keep the focus on what we have”.

In Ducati, therefore, very precise work was done, which Bagnaia wanted in part to share with those present in Misano: “We intervened on some aspects of the set-up, to understand which direction to take from here on. But I did really well, as I managed to set the best time with a tire that had already been used for 21 laps. And that&#8217s something that in the rest of this season I haven”t had yet.

“We still have to get a good understanding of where we stand, also because I don&#8217t know if we can bring to Motegi everything we worked on today– Bagnaia pointed out.

However, I am convinced that the direction we have taken is the right one, and that in Ducati they will do everything they can to help me find what we tried today in Japan as well. However, I want to remain calm. If everything works we will be able to fight for the podium again, if not we will continue to work knowing that the direction is in any case the right one”.

Bagnaia’s 2025 season is proving to be a real ordeal, with performances that contrast dramatically with his rainbow triumphs of 2022 and 2023. This year, the Piedmontese rider took just one Sunday victory, the Grand Prix of the Americas in Austin, rounding out the podium with a second place and five third places. The’last podium finish was even at Sachsenring, Germany, two months ago, a clear sign of a technical and performance crisis that seems to find no solution.

The contrast with the performance of teammate Marc Marquez is jarring. The Spaniard is dominating the season with a 275-point lead in the overall standings and eleven wins to his credit, moving ever closer to the world title that would represent his return to success after a six-year fast. Marquez’s superiority is also evident in the qualifying data, with a long string of pole positions while Bagnaia also struggled consistently in the time attack.

Bagnaia’s crisis has also generated tensions within the Ducati team, as became clear after the disappointing Austrian weekend. The two-time world champion had publicly expressed his frustration: “Today was a repeat of what happened during the rest of the’year. I struggle giving my all and in the end I finish eighth at 12 seconds. I hope to receive explanations, I am losing patience”. The retort from general manager Gigi Dall’Igna had pointed out that even in Ducati they recognize the psychological aspect of the crisis: “When things start to go wrong, everything ends up going wrong and it is difficult to find a point from which to restart”.