Francesco Bagnaia faced another difficult day at the MotoGP Indonesian Grand Prix sprint race on Saturday, finishing last and nearly 30 seconds behind winner Marco Bezzecchi. The Italian rider, who had dominated just a week earlier in Japan, struggled once again, highlighting ongoing issues that have plagued his season. Bagnaia Ducati MotoGP struggles remain unresolved amid conflicting explanations from the driver himself.
Bagnaia’s Confusing Explanation After Poor Performance
Following the sprint race, Bagnaia appeared unable to provide a clear reason for his disappointing result. In his media briefing, he stated that the problem was not technical but rather beyond his control. However, earlier in an interview with DAZN, he described the issue as technical, contradicting his own words. When asked if tyres were the problem, he replied, “No, in technical terms.”
Pressed further on how to understand his slow pace, Bagnaia said,
“I don’t explain it, I can’t explain it. I want them to explain it to me, too. The team, I don’t know, I don’t know who. Someone. At least explain to me why I’ve been so slow, why I can’t be fast here. They have the data, I don’t know what happened. Today, my best lap was 1m31.7s, two seconds slower than the leaders, which is strange.”
This confusion underscores the frustrations facing both rider and team as they seek answers.
Dispute Over Ducati’s Latest Bike Testing
Bagnaia’s struggles come amid controversy about whether he tested Ducati’s newest GP24 bike at Misano last month. The factory Ducati team has repeatedly denied the claim that Bagnaia had access to the GP24 model in the test, with team manager Davide Tardozzi dismissing confirmations from VR46 as unfounded. When asked about the test story again, Tardozzi simply responded, “What confirmation?”
Despite this, Bagnaia told Sky that, in theory, he was using essentially the same bike as his winning machine from Motegi in Japan. When asked what “theoretically” meant, he said,
“In practice, I don’t know. But theoretically [it’s the same bike], yes.”
This ambiguity about the machinery only adds to the confusion surrounding his current performance issues.
Familiar Difficulties Resurface After Misano
Bagnaia also acknowledged that his discomfort on the bike had returned to levels last experienced during the San Marino Grand Prix. He described a lack of confidence in pushing the bike hard, citing instability and brake issues during races, forcing him to back off at times. He remarked,
“A week ago, I was like Bezzecchi [today]: pole position with a [lap] record, sprint win… Today, like yesterday, I find myself back where I was before the Misano test: there’s no way to push. When I try, the bike moves around a lot, and during the race, I often found myself without brakes. Sometimes I had to close the throttle on the straight.”
He summed up his difficult race by saying,
“I finished the race, I made it to the end, but I was 30s behind the leader and 13s behind the penultimate rider. So I would also like to know what happened.”
This blunt admission highlights the extent of Bagnaia’s frustration and the mysterious nature of his Ducati MotoGP struggles.
Bezzecchi’s Resurgence and Its Contrast
Meanwhile, Marco Bezzecchi’s strong performance in Indonesia stands in sharp contrast to Bagnaia’s issues, as he claimed the sprint race victory after finishing nearly half a minute ahead. This turnaround from the Japanese Grand Prix, where Bagnaia dominated, underlines the current challenges facing the Ducati team and their star rider.
The Road Ahead for Bagnaia and Ducati
With these unresolved technical and performance problems, Bagnaia’s season remains uncertain. His inability to understand or communicate what is causing his pace to drop so dramatically underscores the complexities involved. The conflicting information around bike testing, combined with ongoing instability and braking challenges, presents significant hurdles for the Ducati team as they aim to regain competitiveness.
The upcoming races will be critical in determining whether Ducati can address these issues or if Bagnaia’s disappointing form will continue, potentially impacting championship aspirations and the team’s future strategies.
