Francesco Bagnaia has had an incredible impact on Ducati in his MotoGP career, and that has not been lost on the fans, even after he confirmed his exit for 2027.
Bagnaia will join Aprilia on an unprecedented four-year deal next season. The relationship between the Italian and Ducati started to fracture in 2025, as the 29-year-old struggled to find a feeling with the GP25 and openly criticised the team.
His move to Aprilia offers a fresh start for both parties, as Bagnaia gets to start again with a new bike, while Ducati can begin their new era with Pedro Acosta. But fans of the Bologna Bullets will never forget the No.63 rider’s impact.
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Ducati’s TV director cut the feed at the WDW event because fans kept chanting for Francesco Bagnaia
Bagnaia is still the only rider to win multiple titles with Ducati and played a hugely influential role in the team’s incredible rise. While Davide Tardozzi disagrees that Bagnaia ‘built’ Ducati with Jack Miller, his success has not been forgotten.
At Ducati’s WDW event, the TV director had to cut the feed while Bagnaia was on stage. While it was known that he would be joining Aprilia, the fans expressed their unwavering support for the Italian, as head of marketing Patrizia Cianetti recalled.
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Asked which Ducati rider had the greatest impact on the brand, she told Fanpage: “Look, I’d say Casey Stoner, Troy Bayliss, Pecco Bagnaia and Marc Márquez. They’re four very different riders who have each contributed to the company’s history at different times.
“If we wanted to, we could also add Loris Capirossi and Carl Fogarty, but if we have to narrow it down, these are the great heroes of the Ducati community. Number one is Troy Bayliss. Troy is deeply loved; he sets the hearts of Ducati fans alight in an incredible, authentic and genuine way.
“Carl Fogarty was also a truly great figure – perhaps with a little less warmth, a bit tougher in true British style, but absolutely essential. Just think, in the early 2000s we used them as the faces for advertising campaigns called ‘Ducati People’ – they had incredible visual impact.
“Between 2003 and 2007, Loris Capirossi embodied our early days in MotoGP: this year we’re celebrating 100 victories in the premier class, and the first historic win was his.
“And then there’s Casey Stoner, who brought us our first world title: a complex individual, but a pure talent. At the WDW, he was moved to tears on stage and received a standing ovation from thousands of people.
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“Moving into the modern era, Pecco Bagnaia is extraordinary. He brought the world title back to Borgo Panigale, but he also managed to convey incredible warmth and empathy.
“On Saturday evening at the WDW, the director had to give the order over the headset to cut the live feeds because the crowd kept applauding him, doing the wave and singing chants in his honour without stopping.”
It seemed like the right time for the two-time champion to move on, but Tardozzi disagrees that Ducati are disowning Bagnaia. He insists that their relationship will remain intact, and that is absolutely true when it comes to the fans, who will always remember what he did for the team.
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