Pecco Bagnaia, same old story: is the solution with the Gresini team?

Marquez wins and closes in on the top of the standings, while the future Aprilia rider continues to have problems and can’t manage to solve them.

A two-faced Ducati Lenovo MotoGP team. On one side there’s Marc Marquez, who keeps clawing back points and is coming off a winning weekend at the Sachsenring; on the other side there’s Francesco Bagnaia dealing with the usual limitations that prevent him from being as competitive as he wants.

As he himself has stated several times, the Desmosedici GP26 is a step forward compared to the GP25 in terms of front-end feel, better suiting his natural riding style. But it’s not enough. This year he’s having issues related to a lack of rear grip, which limits him both on corner entry and exit. Despite all the work done in recent months, Pecco’s weak point still hasn’t been eliminated.

After finishing sixth in the MotoGP race at the Sachsenring, the three-time world champion reiterated what’s holding him back: "We haven’t solved the problem we’ve had since the first race, which is not having rear grip. I can’t effectively use the rear tire to turn and to accelerate."

Looking at BK8 Gresini team data could help: “The only Ducati rider who had the same problem as me was Alex Marquez — Bagnaia explains — but after Jerez the Gresini team made a big improvement and solved it. I hope that during the summer break we’ll also be able to figure out how to do it.”

Alex Marquez rides a Ducati Desmosedici GP26, so his data can be useful to Bagnaia and his crew. Clearly, copy-paste isn’t enough to fix everything, otherwise it would already have been done. But the weeks off (the Silverstone GP is scheduled for the weekend of August 7–9) will help Pecco’s team analyze the information more thoroughly and come up with possible solutions.

Today the Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosted the special event “Moto d’Italia – Culture Beyond the Track,” celebrating the deep bond between Italian motorsport, culture, and global prestige. The event featured remarks by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hon. Antonio Tajani. A historic moment: Bagnaia was officially named Ambassador of Sports Diplomacy. The two-time MotoGP world champion was accompanied by key figures from Ducati Corse.

The same honor was also awarded to Marco Bezzecchi (with an Aprilia Racing delegation present at the event), Giacomo Agostini, Valentino Rossi, Max Biaggi, and Kiara Fontanesi.

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