Bagnaia–Ducati total eclipse: 'This bike isn't for me anymore'

The MotoGP weekend in Aragon is proving to be an uphill battle for Pecco Bagnaia, who has disappointed the expectations of the Ducati camp. While his teammate Marc Marquez triumphed, the Piedmontese rider finished the Sprint with no points. The stopwatch is even more telling: Pecco was a second per lap slower than the reigning champion.

While Marc Marquez on the Desmosedici GP26 was clocking 1'46 laps, Pecco Bagnaia barely managed to hit 1'47. He ended up 11th in the Sprint, 14.5 seconds behind the winner, even finishing behind Johann Zarco, who hadn’t ridden a MotoGP bike for three and a half months. The #63’s downward trend continues: since the Dutch TT at Assen he has collected only 16 points in the standings. The only good news concerns his operated hand: "Painkillers are helping."

He already understood on Friday that the MotorLand Grand Prix would be complicated, despite it being a track friendly to the Red. The real issues with feeling on the Ducati GP26 began at Silverstone, affecting particularly braking, corner entry, and rear grip. "It’s difficult, especially for the team, to understand what isn’t working on my side," he admitted at the end of Pre-Qualifying.

Bagnaia made some steps forward on Saturday in Aragon thanks to setup changes. But it’s not enough. Some think he’s already focused on his next adventure with Aprilia and just coasting along, but that’s not the case. "I care about where I’ll be next year, but I also care about the present." For almost two years the two-time MotoGP champion hasn’t been in sync with the Ducati. "We know very well that the DNA of this bike doesn’t suit me all that much. But I’ll never give up; I’ll try to give my best until the end... Laying down tools just isn’t me."

The higher the track temperatures rise, the more rear grip drops away. But the performances of his brand-mates leave no room for excuses. Pecco Bagnaia has been trying, unsuccessfully, to study Alex Marquez’s telemetry, as he makes minimal use of electronics. "We can’t understand where they managed to find that improvement. It’s also difficult to compare the data because there are so many differences, especially when we get on the throttle. It looks like two different bikes."

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