Marco Bezzecchi
Francesco Bagnaia may have taken a dig at Ducati after the French Grand Prix after suffering yet another crash.
Despite Bagnaia securing pole at the French Grand Prix, the weekend did not go well for Ducati, even beyond Marc Marquez’s horrific crash.
The Italian rider ended up crashing out of the race on Sunday. After the race, Bagnaia was seen visibly frustrated by the situation.
Pecco Bagnaia suffers his EIGHTH retirement in his last TEN MotoGP races 😲 What is going wrong?
This would mark his eighth crash in ten MotoGP races, raising a big question – why does Bagnaia crash so often?
As it would turn out, Francesco Bagnaia may have answered this question already, and it isn’t a response that flatters Ducati.
READ MORE: MotoGP fans have never seen Pecco Bagnaia so angry as fan footage shows Le Mans crash reaction
Francesco Bagnaia suggested the GP26’s weakness compared to Aprilia is responsible for his crashes
Speaking on Duralavita, legendary MotoGP mechanic Ramon Forcada looked back at Francesco Bagnaia’s crash at the French Grand Prix.
Outside of the technical details that don’t explain his crash, he focused on Bagnaia’s comments, suggesting that the Italian shifted the blame for the crash to Ducati’s lacklustre work on the GP26 compared to Aprilia.
“He’s still using a different fork than the rest of the paddock, and that, obviously, with its different travel, generates different forces.
“But it’s strange, because Brembo has this completely under control. Maintenance, fluid changes… They have it very well managed, and it’s odd that they’re having problems.
“Anyway, what he said is that now, to keep up with the Aprilias, they have to push to the limit and end up crashing.
“What he implied is that the bike isn’t designed to keep up with the Aprilias and that if the rider tries to do it just by speeding through, he ends up crashing.”
READ MORE: Livio Suppo fears Pecco Bagnaia still isn’t over losing the 2024 world title to Jorge Martin
How is Francesco Bagnaia’s downturn affecting his MotoGP legacy?
Francesco Bagnaia’s Ducati frustration adds to Aprilia speculation
Recent reporting has suggested Bagnaia rejected Yamaha to sign with Aprilia, effectively leaving Ducati to join their biggest rivals next year.
He is expected to replace the outgoing Jorge Martin, who is expected to join Yamaha instead. Seeing his future team outperform him quite easily will surely lead to frustration.
While some believe Bagnaia’s crash hid Ducati’s full potential, there is clearly frustration from Bagnaia aimed at Ducati for not giving him the best opportunity in his final season.
Bagnaia has expressed concern over Marquez’s absence, presumably because of Ducati’s weakness compared to Aprilia, and thus, this frustration has started to surface.
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