Two-faced Bagnaia in Austin
During the Grand Prix of the Americas weekend in Austin, Pecco Bagnaia showed excellent signs of recovery in qualifying with fourth place and even more so during the Sprint. The Piedmontese Ducati champion in fact remained in the lead for almost the entire Saturday race, overtaken right at the end by Jorge Martin. On Sunday, however, everything changed for Pecco, with very significant wear on the rear tire that saw him drop back to 10th place at the finish line.
And it is a start to the season far from his and Ducati’s hopes, given that between Mandalika, Goiania, and Austin on Sunday he did no better than ninth position under the checkered flag.
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Checa no longer sees the old Pecco
“He will have to work to reduce the gap a bit, but if we compare it with last year, the Austin weekend was positive,” analyzed former rider Carlos Checa to Dazn Spain regarding Bagnaia. The Spaniard admitted, however, that this version of the Ducati rider is different from that of three years ago: “But if we talk about the Pecco Bagnaia who won world championships, well yes, he is far from the Pecco of the past and at the moment there is a big difference. This lack of consistency is a problem already seen last year and which is continuing this year as well.”
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But the future is Aprilia
It is no mystery that in 2027 Pecco Bagnaia will change scenery and leave Ducati, the bike he has raced with since the beginning of his MotoGP career. The choice of the two-time premier class world champion is in fact that Aprilia which is dominating this first part of the season. And it will be a long-term agreement, given that paddock rumors speak of a two-year deal with the possibility of an extension for another two years. Official confirmation is expected in the coming weeks.
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