Opposing positions
Francesco Bagnaia spoke clearly Francesco Bagnaia on the eve of what for him is the home race par excellence, at Misano. The Ducati champion, in his last San Marino GP with the red suit before moving to Aprilia next year, did not hesitate to reiterate once again his thoughts on the technical turning point undertaken by the Borgo Panigale factory in the last two years, precisely when #63 began to face an evident crisis of results that is still ongoing.
Speaking with journalists present at the Romagna circuit, Bagnaia – as reported by the site Motorsport.com – pronounced words destined to spark debate: “I think the potential that the Ducatis had with the GP24 was unbeatable – said Bagnaia, who in that season won 11 GPs but lost the title to then teammate Jorge Martin, as recently recalled also by Gigi Dall’Igna – even today, if we were four GP24s, we would be the top four in the World Championship. I remember very well this race from three years ago and the potential we had. The Aprilias have improved, but the Ducatis have also taken a step back. So, maybe, if this weekend we manage to find something, we can fight with them. Otherwise, the Aprilias could be very strong“.
Updates and ‘aging’
Bagnaia then also seemed skeptical about the usefulness for Ducati to ‘evolve’ the GP26 with updated components: “I am quite convinced that we don’t need new things – commented the Piedmontese rider – I am convinced that we need old things. But the bike is this and other riders manage to be fast. So it’s my problem and I have to adapt“, he concluded. Ducati’s hope is that Bagnaia returns to being fast in this final part of the season, also because his resurgence could be useful in the perspective of taking points away from the Aprilias of Martin and Bezzecchi and indirectly helping Marc Marquez’s comeback. Certainly, if even at Misano the Italian’s feeling with the GP26 were disastrous, it would be hard to imagine on which other circuit things could improve before the end of the championship.
Read more Rins is preparing to switch from two to four wheels: goodbye to the Superbike project
