Marco Bezzecchi
Francesco Bagnaia should be judged against his 2025 form rather than his Ducati peak, Carlos Checa says. Bagnaia had his best weekend of the season in the United States despite only scoring 15 points.
The Italian looked on course for his first victory of 2026 during the Sprint race, only for old rival Jorge Martin to overtake him on the final lap. Still, second place finally gave him something to build on.
At the start of the main race, Bagnaia fought with teammate Marc Marquez, having outpaced him in qualifying, but he dropped back in the closing stages. Another last-lap overtake, this time from Honda’s Luca Marini, demoted him to 10th place.
Francesco Bagnaia has now become an inconsistent rider, Carlos Checa says
Bagnaia blamed rear tyre wear for his regression at the end of the race, a familiar problem from last season. Still, Checa says it was a ‘positive’ weekend, based on the standards the Ducati rider has set post-2024.
Between the start of 2022 and the end of 2024, Bagnaia won 25 of the 59 Grands Prix he started – an excellent win rate of 42.4%. Since then, he has only won two out of 25, or eight percent.
Worse still, Bagnaia hasn’t even scored consecutive podiums since Assen and the Sachsenring last summer. While Ducati have clearly regressed from their peak, he currently ranks fourth among their six riders.
Is Francesco Bagnaia a MotoGP legend?
Checa told DAZN, via Motosan: “I think he did well, he started very determined, he had a good start, he got into his best position, he looked for his best position, and from there, I think that either the tyres or the fuel consumption dropped off, I think more the former, and they started to lose positions.”
“The year he had last year, looking at yesterday’s weekend, well, I would assess it positively, keeping in mind that we’re talking about the Pecco Bagnaia of last year.
“Obviously, if we’re talking about the Pecco Bagnaia leading the world championship, well, yes, he’s far from the Pecco he used to be, and now, at this moment, there’s a big gap.
“And yes, that inconsistency, that lack of consistency, is a problem that also comes from last year and that today also contributes to this.”
Have Aprilia made a mistake signing Pecco Bagnaia?
Perhaps Aprilia should take heed of Checa’s warning is that Bagnaia is no longer the same rider.
It emerged during the Austin weekend that Bagnaia has signed his Aprilia contract. It is a four-year deal, but only the first two seasons are guaranteed.
It’s unclear what came first – Aprilia’s swoop for Bagnaia or Jorge Martin’s move to Yamaha. Either way, Massimo Rivola has taken a risk on a rider who has lost his way.
The hope is that a change of scenery and equipment will inspire Bagnaia to regain his best form.
If not, the critical narrative that Bagnaia’s titles were down to Ducati’s bike will only become more widespread.
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