Bagnaia in crisis, Salucci (VR46) pulls no punches: "The relationship has broken down"

The VR46 team has scored just one victory this MotoGP season. Fabio Di Giannantonio seemed capable of challenging the factory-team stars for the world title, but over the last five Grands Prix he has lost ground in the standings and is now fifth. Alessio Salucci offers a look at the upcoming 2027 lineup and the critical moment his protégé Pecco Bagnaia is facing.

Starting next year, Valentino Rossi’s squad will feature a new rider duo. Di Giannantonio has signed a two-year deal with KTM Factory Racing, where he will team up with Alex Marquez. Morbidelli will embark on a new adventure in WorldSBK and bid farewell to the MotoGP class for good. Riding the fluorescent yellow Desmosedici will be Fermin Aldeguer and Nicolò Bulega.

Team director Alessio Salucci is thrilled with the new tandem. "I don’t like talking about the future right now... but that’s how it works. I’m very happy with the riders for the coming years," he told Sky Sport MotoGP. "Fermin is young and experienced at the same time; you can see he’s getting better race by race. He’s coming back from a serious injury he suffered at the start of the year."

In the other side of the garage is a familiar face to the VR46 Academy, Nicolò Bulega, the Superbike leader. "What can I say... I’m really happy. When we parted ways, speaking sports-wise, our work was done," added ‘Uccio’. "He wasn’t ready for the hectic life of a professional; he was very young. I’ve always kept an eye on him over these years—now he’s become a true man, and you can see it in the results."

Ducati is in the hunt for a fifth consecutive MotoGP title with Marc Marquez. Pecco Bagnaia, on the other hand, has long been struggling to find the feeling with the Desmosedici. "It hurts to see Pecco like this; it seems like he’s forgotten how to ride, but that’s not the case. My advice is to stay calm and limit the damage, to get through this season and have it end as soon as possible for him. He doesn’t look well, and I feel really bad about it. I don’t understand what isn’t working. Surely the relationship has broken down a bit—we all know that," concluded Alessio Salucci. "He has to hang tough."

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