Ducati Beats Aprilia at Aragon: Pecco Bagnaia’s Verdict

The three-time world champion is confident heading into this MotoGP weekend at MotorLand: he feels he has significantly more potential compared to the last difficult GP.

Silverstone was a nightmare for Francesco Bagnaia, who arrived there not in optimal physical condition after surgery on his right arm for compartment syndrome and carpal tunnel. A few weeks have passed and the Ducati Lenovo rider comes to Aragon in better shape and with more hope of delivering a positive Grand Prix.

The MotorLand track offers more grip, which should benefit both him and Ducati. Pecco has repeatedly stated that he doesn’t have enough rear grip with the Desmosedici GP26, and the Spanish circuit should suit him better than Silverstone. Aprilia was superior on low-grip tracks and may have to fight harder this weekend.

Interviewed by Sky Sport MotoGP, the three-time world champion explained that he is not yet at 100% physically, but he isn’t worried about this Grand Prix at Aragon: "Unfortunately, my hand is still quite swollen. Fortunately, this is a counterclockwise track, so I’ll be less bothered. Also, painkillers will help me and I don’t think there will be any problems."

Bagnaia is convinced that the characteristics of the Alcañiz track, which has decent grip, can play to Ducati’s advantage against Aprilia: "We’re lacking potential on tracks where the corners are long and you need grip at lean. I think it will be different here, we’ll be fast, the Ducatis will have an advantage over the Aprilias here: we’ll need to make the most of it."

Aragon is a special place for Pecco, as it was there he took his first MotoGP win in 2021 after a great battle with Marc Marquez, who was then a Honda rider and is now his teammate. Climbing back onto the top step of the podium seems complicated for the Piedmontese rider: "Last race weekend was a disaster. Last year I had big braking problems, but the grip wasn’t bad; this year it’s exactly the opposite. I’d say a top-five finish is a realistic target."

Even though he always wants to fight for the win, Bagnaia admits that finishing in the top five in the weekend’s races might be within his reach. Being at the very front, considering his performance in the 2026 MotoGP World Championship, seems rather difficult. He will give it everything, as always, and compared to Silverstone he can also count on his crew chief Cristian Gabarrini, who was absent in England due to a personal matter.

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