Despite an encouraging pre-season, Francesco Bagnaia was helpless as he watched Ducati break the 88-race podium at the 2026 Thai Grand Prix.
For the first time since the 2021 British Grand Prix, Ducati They are not represented on the podium by the six drivers currently competing as part of their stable.
Aprilia Marco Bezecchi took plaudits in Buriram In MotoGP’s 2026 season-opener, he dominated the Buriram International Circuit to take the win. Grand Prix of Thailand More than five seconds Pedro Acosta Secondly.
with Raul Fernandez Taking the last place on the podium, the best Ducati rider ended Fabio D’Giantantoniowho took the checkered flag in P6.
Marc Marquez was forced to retire early After hitting the rear tire on the curb, he followed quickly Alex Marquez Withdrawal from competition.
Franco Morbidelli P8 finished, one place ahead Francesco Bagnaiasaying Michel Pirro In the end it ended with the knights seeing the flag instead. Fermin Aldeguer.
A changing of the guard or just a blip to start the season? 🤔
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Francesco Bagnaia thought it was ‘impossible’ that Ducati would not score a podium at the Thai Grand Prix.
In his media engagement with the international press following the conclusion of the Thai Grand Prix, Bagnaya expressed his surprise that his favorite Ducati suit was not on the podium.
The two-time MotoGP world champion is through Moto.it“After the tests, I can tell you that this cannot happen.
“In the tests, we were riding fast and at high speeds, but from the beginning of the weekend, I really felt the difference in conditions, and I felt that the other Ducati riders were more competitive than me.
“Especially on the flying lap and especially Mark, who was competitive in the race. We couldn’t say anything here, we had to try to finish the race.”
After seeing Aprilia dominate the top five with all four of their riders, the Italian had some other scathing comments for his teammates back at Borgo Panigale. Bagnaia says that Ducati simply isn’t the ‘fastest’ team. On the grid.
For what it’s worth, Marquez was in the hunt for a podium before the crash, but he had to find plenty of race pace to do the job on Raul Fernandez in the final stages of the grand prix.
The Spaniard’s retirement ended the first weekend of the race with the factory Ducati team within a deficit of the championship lead, which currently stands as Acosta.
Marc Marquez made it easy to get past this twice, but what was your favorite moment from the Thai Grand Prix? 🤩
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Despite his own results, Francesco Bagnaia has revealed how happy he is for Marco Bezecic.
Another of Bagnaia’s questions concerns race winner Bezecic and the Italian’s feelings for him.
Asked if he was happy with the Aprilia star, Bagnaya said, “Of course, I am very happy for him.
“We had to pull his ear for yesterday because he could have scored twice, but I made a lot of mistakes, so I can’t say anything.”
Bagnaia is expected to team up with Bezecchi at Aprilia Next year, Acosta is understood to jump into the #63 seat at Borgo Panigale in 2027.
One eye will likely be on Aprilia’s performance in the near future, with a move around Italy likely to revive Bagnaia’s recent lackluster performance.
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