Marco Bezzecchi
Ducati team manager Davide Tardozzi has explained why Francesco Bagnaia leaving the team will be mutually beneficial.
Ducati only confirmed late last month that Bagnaia would depart at the end of the season, but this has been widely known for months. It emerged over the winter that they were signing Pedro Acosta.
As such, Bagnaia’s contract wasn’t renewed and he will still instead join Italian rivals Aprilia on a long-term deal.
Ducati split with Francesco Bagnaia was ‘a positive choice’
Bagnaia remains the most successful rider in Ducati’s MotoGP history with two world championships, which made it ‘difficult’ to let him go.
But his relationship with the team suffered last season, when he scored just 34% of Ducati’s points. Newly-signed teammate Marc Marquez made Ducati his own as he dominated the world championship, while Bagnaia baffled his engineers by losing confidence.
In his own statement after the announcement, Bagnaia admitted that ‘we clashed more than we would have liked’ and ‘something started to change’ on his side of the garage.
Who will regret this split more, Francesco Bagnaia or Ducati?
“It was a difficult decision, especially from a human perspective,” Tardozzi told Fanpage at Ducati’s centenary event. “Over the years, we’ve developed a very strong bond, and we’ve gotten to know him as a guy, as well as a rider.
“However, there are moments in a career when it’s right to part ways, because it can be the best solution for both parties. From a sporting perspective, I think it was a positive choice for both Ducati and Pecco.
“Next year, we’ll have a strong duo: Marquez, who has already won the world championship with us eight times and Pedro Acosta, who is widely considered the purest talent among the young MotoGP riders.
“Pecco, on the other hand, will go to Aprilia, which is doing great. So, come on, we’re both coming out of this relationship on a good note. From a personal standpoint, however, absolutely nothing will change. The respect and friendship between us will always remain.”
Davide Tardozzi on his ‘hardest moment’ with Francesco Bagnaia
In the same interview, Tardozzi, who has held his current role since 2014, was asked to name his best and worst moments at Ducati. Bagnaia was at the centre of both.
In 2022, he gave the team their first MotoGP championship since Casey Stoner in 2007 after making a record-breaking comeback against Fabio Quartararo.
But two years later, he lost that crown to Jorge Martin, who rode the satellite Ducati at Pramac. Martin became the first independent champion of the modern era even though Bagnaia won 11 out of 20 races.
- READ MORE: Francesco Bagnaia reveals how he felt about Marc Marquez joining Ducati amid Valentino Rossi feud
In the end, Bagnaia’s eight retirements (including the Sprint races) cost him the championship.
“I’ve never considered giving up because it’s not in my nature, but the hardest moment was definitely losing the 2024 world championship after winning more than half the races,” said Tardozzi.
“A hard blow to swallow, while the best moment, however, was undoubtedly the first world title won with Pecco Bagnaia.
“After so many years of work, sacrifice, and improvement, we managed to bring the world championship back to Borgo Panigale, Bologna. We hadn’t managed to do that since Stoner. It was a huge thrill.”
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