Marco Bezzecchi
Francesco Bagnaia will have hoped that Ducati’s bike would suit his riding style a little more than it does currently, and it might have left him in a little trouble.
The two-time champion is nowhere to be seen in the riders’ championship picture and sits 72 points behind teammate Marc Marquez after just seven races, despite two significant mistakes from the Spaniard. Bagnaia has just not been able to show any representative speed on the Ducati bike.
Having 15 more MotoGP races to rectify his issues won’t even be that settling for him, considering that his problems are within the bike – something that is unlikely to be solved until the winter when things can be properly redesigned.
Bagnaia has been struggling with the same Ducati problem and it all traces back to the start of the 2023 season. It was the campaign that he secured his second consecutive title, but also where he began to feel uncomfortable with his front end.
Unfortunately, Ducati may not have the money to fix Bagnaia’s problem, which is a worrying sign for the rest of the season. He’s going to be forced to struggle with his current bike for the foreseeable future.
Francesco Bagnaia is ‘doomed’ against Marc Marquez at Ducati for one reason
Bagnaia has a problem Marquez doesn’t have after his team changed the balance of their bike without meaning to. That’s a big adjustment to make and can completely affect the confidence that a MotoGP rider has in his bike.
Ever since pre-season, the 28-year-old has not looked at home on his bike at all, and after witnessing the first third of the season, both Mat Oxley and Peter Bom are in agreement about his prospects of winning a third title in 2025.
“I think basically for this year’s championship, he’s doomed. The bike isn’t working for him or particularly for Marquez.” said Oxley.
“Doomed? Yeah maybe he is. How lucky can Marc Marquez be, what happens now is what he is sure was not planning to do the next year, no? Steering the development in the direction of a bike that only he can master,” replied Bom.
“But Gigi [Dall’Igna] did it already before he arrived. There is a bike that is clearly worse than the 2024 bike. Marc can master it as and is smiling all the way. Pecco can’t and since the bike is deep inside different, they cannot revert to last year’s feeling.”
READ MORE: Francesco Bagnaia simply must follow his Ducati crew chief’s advice to improve 2025 MotoGP struggles
What can Francesco Bagnaia do to improve his chances against Marc Marquez at Ducati?
There’s only so much that Bagnaia can do in terms of copying his teammate’s setup and trying new things until he has to give up. By now, it seems that his current bike just does not suit him well and there’s not a lot he can do about it.
Although the British Grand Prix might have been an anomaly, there were worrying signs for Ducati, who had no riders in the top four at one stage in the race. The fact that Marquez is struggling too, says a lot. Maybe Bagnaia’s issues aren’t all down to him.
Bagnaia made a worrying admission and admitted that he needs help after Silverstone. He knows that performing miracles every weekend is not realistic, and that change must happen.
But the upcoming race at Aragon is once again one that suits the other side of the garage. His confidence may be about to take another hit.
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