Pecco Bagnaia furious after the off-air clip: the truth behind the "against Ducati" remark

The Ducati rider comments on the off-air clip that made him the protagonist of a much-debated exchange with Diggia: he’s angry with those who released it.

It’s an extremely difficult moment for Francesco Bagnaia, coming off several heavily negative Grands Prix and unable to emerge from the crisis that has hit him, not even at Misano Adriatico. Despite knowing the Romagna track like the back of his hand and the asphalt offering lots of grip, the two-time MotoGP world champion couldn’t be competitive. Sunday’s race ended with a crash that capped off a weekend with 0 points: the third in a row, a sign of a truly complicated situation. But what’s fueling debate isn’t just his struggles riding the Ducati Desmosedici GP26.

After the San Marino and Rimini Riviera Grand Prix, a hot-mic clip revealed by DAZN España showing Pecco and Fabio Di Giannantonio discussing the Ducati Lenovo rider’s situation made quite a stir. The latter says things like “I put on what they tell me to use,” “I’ve tried everything,” “for me, soft or medium on the front makes no difference, it’s completely the same,” but the line that drew the most attention was “They won’t let me do it” when Diggia advised him to switch to a more standard bike setup, similar to the one used on the Pertamina Enduro VR46 team’s Desmosedici GP26.

At the Red Bull Ring, where the Austrian Grand Prix is being held this weekend, the Piedmontese rider had the chance to comment on the off-air clip and everything that followed: “I think many times I’ve been asked ‘Does the team support you?’ — reports Motosan — and I’ve always answered yes, that the team is doing everything possible to help me. What happened in the last race at Misano was, for me, a total lack of respect from DAZN. The video that was published was taken out of context; it isn’t complete. We were talking about something else entirely. And I’m sure the last word I said is not the one that’s been quoted.”.

Pecco acknowledges he didn’t express himself in the best way due to the frustration he felt at Misano, but he also wants to explain the meaning of the line that drew the most criticism: “Everyone goes through tough times, everyone has inner frustrations, and sometimes things are said the wrong way. But what I’ve always said is that Ducati supports me a lot. And what I meant is that I’ve already tried adding and removing things many times. Ducati doesn’t allow me to do it anymore, but only because I’ve already done it too many times and I don’t want to keep going with this kind of thing.”

He explained what he meant when he told Diggia “They won’t let me do it.”

The rider from Chivasso didn’t expect what happened to him after the GP at Misano, also considering the relationships he tries to maintain with journalists: “What slipped out of my mouth was a blunder, but what happened afterwards is a disaster for me because it completely lacks respect. And the relationship between journalists and riders must be based on respect. And I think I’ve always been very kind to all of you; I’ve never been rude. What happened to me isn’t right. The way it happened to me isn’t right.”

Bagnaia also revealed that he spoke with Ducati after the incident involving him: “We talked about it yesterday. It’s normal that, the way it’s portrayed on television, it looks terrible. But they also have the interviews from Friday and Sunday: what I said in both is that Ducati has always supported me. So they know what I’m talking about, they know I’m not complaining without reason. And I apologize for the words I used. But I also know how important our relationship is, and it’s still good. So there’s nothing different compared to the past.”

It’s certainly not the best period in the relationship between Pecco and Ducati, yet at the same time the rider doesn’t want to give the impression that there’s a rift between the parties. Despite the disappointing results and the frustration of not managing to solve the problems, mutual respect is still present, as is the desire to try to get out of the current difficult situation.

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