Marco Bezzecchi
Francesco Bagnaia believes Ducati are “getting closer” to solving their problems with poor starts, after the Bologna Bullets “lost their way” when problems arose last year.
Two-time MotoGP champion Bagnaia believes Ducati have been on the back foot in 2026, as confusion grew among their ranks last season and left the Borgo Panigale outfit having to try to catch up this year. But after a difficult start, the Italian took lots of positives from Mugello.
Bagnaia produced arguably his best race of the season so far in the Italian Grand Prix, as the Ducati ace took the fight to lead at Mugello to the Aprilia duo of Marco Bezzecchi and Jorge Martin. Ultimately, Bagnaia finished third in the Italian GP, due to his high rate of tyre wear.
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Francesco Bagnaia thinks Ducati are ‘closer’ to fixing his lack of rear grip off the grid
Despite Bagnaia’s issues with Ducati’s race starts this term, the Turin native even ran fourth behind teammate Marc Marquez out of Turn 1 at Mugello last Sunday after starting in sixth place. Raul Ferandez of Trackhouse going deep at T1 helped Bagnaia’s position in the order.
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Bagnaia pinpoints the wealth of changes that Ducati made to his bike before the Italian GP, such as modifying his electronics, as the reason why he was able to gain places off the grid. Now, the only area that Bagnaia feels Ducati still have to work on is improving his rear grip.
Ducati are “getting closer” to finding a solution for Bagnaia’s lack of rear grip off the line, as the Bologna Bullets have even made substantial changes to the balance of his bike since the start of 2026. But Bagnaia notes that Ducati are sitting ducks compared to the Honda riders.
Bagnaia said, via Motorsport.com: “The thing is, last year we lost our way. Ducati lost their way. And this year, we’re trying to recover what we gained last year.
“So, I have to say that in the last GP, we improved our start from Saturday to Sunday, and I think it will be much better in the future.
“We’re changing the bike’s balance quite a bit from how it was originally designed. So, it’s demanding because we’re progressing step by step, and it’s not easy, but we’re doing it.
“The next step will be to increase rear grip because, right now, the only thing I’m lacking is rear grip. But it’s something we’re getting closer to.
“I don’t think removing the [launch] devices will increase or decrease the gap between the bikes. The reality is that, for now, Honda have the best starts. When you’re near a Honda at the start, you lose your position.
“I think we’ve lost performance compared to last year. Last year, we had pretty good starts, but the bike slid a lot, and it’s the same this year.
“I understand why it’s not easy, but what we tested at Mugello on Sunday, the electronics, worked better. So, maybe from now on we’ll improve our starts.”
Bagnaia made an awful start in the season-opening Thailand Grand Prix, as the 29-year-old struggled to get off the line from P13 at Buriram in March. It was a similar story at the start of the Brazilian GP, the United States GP, the Spanish GP, the French GP and the Catalan GP.
In each race, Bagnaia got a slow initial launch and either lost places or was immediately left fighting simply to stay where he qualified. Yet in Mugello, Ducati’s changes to Bagnaia’s bike kept him in touch with the leaders and able to make up places that proved vital to his result.
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