Francesco Bagnaia’s Ducati woes in 2010 They carry over to 2026, and there are some theories as to what is causing the problems.
It’s been a disappointing 2025 campaign for the two-time MotoGP champion as he constantly complains about the lack of feel from GP25. As we head into 2026, those problems are expected to have subsided.
Bagnaya felt more comfortable on the GP26. In pre-season testing, he was very close to Marc Marquez because of the feel of the front braking. Then, at the Thai Grand Prix, issues arose again.
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Bagnaya crashed in Buriram in Q1 and struggled to win the race on Saturday and Sunday, finishing ninth in both races. The feeling from the bike during the pre-race was completely different.
Michel Pirro saw Bagnaia struggling with similar problems. In the year Had it in 2025, no clear explanation. Journalist Matt Oxley He had a theory. Ducati Bicycle, but David Tardozi He appeared to shut that down.
David Tardozzi says Matt Oxley was ‘wrong’ to think Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia was causing problems.
Bagnaya could not make the tire in ThailandThis contributed to the poor results at the end of the week. It was a continuation of the issues from 2025, looking miles off the pace.
Ducati Bagnaya asked her many times. When trying to find out what happened to the Italian last year. Oxley told him it was related to the engine but Tardozzi told him it was a fault in the Buriram pit line.
He said through Oxley Bom MotoGP PodcastIf they could have fixed the problem by changing the Pecon’s ride height gear, they would have done it, which is why it had to be the engine we always came back to.
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“Even though I was taking pictures on pit road, I was taking pictures of the bike during the warm-up at Buriram, because Sunday morning is the best time to take pictures of the pit lane because every factory has a bike in front of it, every team is going out front or two bikes in front.
“And Tardozzi got out of the box and went to the wall of the pit and said, ‘You’re wrong, you’ve made a big mistake,’ and she slapped me a little bit.”
“So it’s not just about me, it’s about me and Peter that it must have been the engine that caused the blur.”
“We don’t go on too much about it, as we’ve talked about a lot of times, in terms of how the engine brakes basically, and how it loads the front tire and things like that. So even the character of the engine can affect the field of the front end going into a corner.
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Francesco Bagnaia now faces a crucial moment to prove his worth in MotoGP.
In the year It’s only been one week of competition in 2026, but Bagnaia’s issues are still there. He can’t afford to have another season like last year and his reputation is damaged.
But Valentino Rossi says Bagnaia is ‘gone’ at Ducati.. He couldn’t match his teammate Marquez, who consistently had better things than him.
The Italian needs to improve his form and find solutions in the next few races. With the Brazilian GP coming up, it’s a new track for everyone so it’s the perfect opportunity to find something.
says Livio Suppo. Bagnaia ‘must prove’ his titles were not on DucatiInstead, show that he can still perform as a rider. If he can’t, it will further damage his situation in MotoGP.
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