Francesco Bagnaia thinks Ducati has ‘something different’ in Jerez after studying data

Bagnaia arrived in Jerez after a month off due to the postponement of the Qatar Grand Prix. The two-time champion is only the fourth-best-seasoned. Ducati star, and the last among those on GP26.

Mick Doohan is confused by Bagnaya’s problem. Up until this point, the Italian had just completed a higher prix than his P9 in Thailand. Bagnaia crashed in the Brazilian Grand Prix while running in P11 and could only finish P10 in the United States Grand Prix.

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Francesco Bagnaia thinks his data clearly shows the ‘unpredictable’ behavior of the Ducati GP26’s worn tyres.

Tire wear is the main cause of Bagnaya’s problems during the first Grand Prix of 2026. Bagnaia said he was “fighting hard” to stop the bike in Brazil. Because it lacks a back cover. At the same time Bagnaia “tried to make it to the end” in Texas. After removing the tire.

Read more: The best moments of Francesco Bagnaia’s MotoGP career

The four-week break since the US GP has given Ducati and Bagnaia the opportunity to study his data and implement possible adjustments this week. Spanish GP. The native of Turin thinks that it is “obvious” that Ducati has a problem, but they are beginning to understand the issue.

Bagnaya said, go Motorsport.comWhat is clear from the data is that the bike behaves unpredictably and the compression on the rear tire is very large in Sunday’s race.

“It’s weird because you do a lot of laps on a lot of tires from Friday on the weekend and you can keep a very consistent pace.

“So that’s something we have to figure out, and I think they’re starting to think about something different for the weekend.”

Bagnaia also points to Moto2 and Moto3 riders ditching Pirelli rubber as one of the reasons why Ducati’s tire outfits are only seen during Grands Prix. This season marks the final term for MotoGP to use Michelin tires.

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“The only problem for me is Sunday’s race, because everything works in an organized way, you can work, you can adapt, and everything is going well,” Bagnaia added.

“In the last two years, it is clear that the DNA of the bike is not suitable for me. But in 2026, I can try to adapt a little better. But in Sunday’s race, there is something different. Maybe the Pirelli tires (used in Moto2 and Moto3), I don’t know, and I will start to have a lot of problems.”

The Pirelli rubber put on by Moto3 and Moto2 riders affects how Michelin tires perform when MotoGP takes to the circuit, generally like the weekend’s Grand Prix. But it’s an issue that affects every MotoGP rider, and Bagnaia is struggling with it more than most.

That said, even the riders on the Ducati Desmosedici GP26 are doing better than Bagnaia during the Grands Prix. VR46’s Fabio Di Giannantonio took the 2026 Ducati rider’s only Grand Prix podium in Brazil with P3, while Marc Marquez mounted P4.