Marco Bezzecchi
Livio Suppo fears Ducati rider Francesco Bagnaia enduring a difficult start to the 2026 season is a “shame” for MotoGP fans as it raises concerns about his future prospects.
Bagnaia had created a lot of optimism during pre-season testing, especially in Sepang, as he appeared to have put his miserable 2025 campaign behind him. But the 29-year-old has not been able to replicate any of the promise that he exhibited since the season actually began.
Aprilia CEO Massimo Rivola suggested Ducati’s rivals should “go home” after seeing Bagnaia thrive during the Sprint Race simulations at the Sepang pre-season test in February. Yet the two-time champion is only ninth in the standings after the first three rounds with 25 points.
Instead, Aprilia have risen to the top, with Marco Bezzecchi heading teammate Jorge Martin by four points atop the standings with 81 and 77 respectively. VR46’s Fabio Di Giannantonio is the lead Ducati rider in fourth place on 50 points, behind KTM racer Pedro Acosta with 60.
How will we talk about Francesco Bagnaia’s Aprilia move in five years?
Francesco Bagnaia’s ‘strange’ struggles in 2026 hint it could be ‘difficult’ for him to ever recover
Martin’s last-lap overtake on Bagnaia to win the COTA Sprint is the Ducati ace’s best result in 2026 so far. The Italian sealed P9 during both of the races in Thailand, got P8 in the Goiania Sprint before crashing out of the Brazilian Grand Prix and sealed P10 in the United States GP.
READ MORE: The best moments of Francesco Bagnaia’s MotoGP career
Suppo finds Bagnaia’s “flashes” of promise “strange”, but it sparks a bigger concern after his torrid 2025 season. The 2022 and 2023 champion retired from six of the final seven Grands Prix last year, as he even slipped to fifth in the standings to pen his worst season since 2020.
“What’s strange is seeing Pecco again only going fast in flashes,” Suppo told GPOne. “This is a cause for concern, because one bad year happens, but if he were to have two in a row, it would become more difficult. For the fans, it’s a bit of a shame.”
Bagnaia’s difficulties adapting to the Ducati GP25 last year saw him go from fighting for the title in each of the previous four seasons to finishing fifth in the standings. He currently sits ninth in the 2026 championship after the first three rounds as the fourth-best Ducati rider.
VR46 ace Di Giannantonio (50), works Ducati teammate Marc Marquez (45) and Gresini star Alex Marquez (28) outscored Bagnaia (25) over the opening three rounds, to sit fourth, fifth and eighth in the 2026 standings. Alex Marquez is the only one of those riders on the GP25.
Bagnaia struggled with extreme tyre wear in the United States GP, which he claimed left him with almost no rear grip after just eight laps. Rear grip has been a big issue so far in 2026, as Bagnaia finds it “strange” that he only struggles during the races as he cannot brake easily.
Receive racing news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
