Ducati confirm one fewer GP25; Pecco Bagnaia admits impact of huge decision
Pecco Bagnaia reacts to confirmation of VR46's new status
Francesco Bagnaia has reacted to Ducati’s confirmation that they will run only three GP25s by admitting he will lose data.
Next season, VR46 will replace Pramac as Ducati’s “factory supported” satellite team but - unlike Pramac this year - will be given just a single GP25.
It means only the factory pair - Bagnaia and Marc Marquez - plus VR46’s Fabio di Giannantonio will ride identical machinery.
“Not a big disadvantage, but four bikes are better than three,” Bagnaia told media including Crash.net at Silverstone on Friday.
“Four bikes give you more data. You understand more things.
“So, for me, it’s better. But I don’t decide these things.
“It’s better because, in a test, you can give all four riders something to do.
“This year already, I didn’t finish the job in the test.
“It’s better to have four bikes to give the factory teams the same bikes.”
Ducati’s official team is confirmed - Bagnaia will be joined by current Gresini rider Marquez.
VR46 have been confirmed as Ducati’s new factory-supported team with access to one GP25. They must make do with a year-old bike, too.
Although unconfirmed, Ducati bosses revealed at Silverstone that Di Giannantonio will ride VR46’s factory bike and Franco Morbidelli will ride their year-old bike.
Bagnaia sends warning to Martin
Bagnaia enters this weekend’s British MotoGP as the in-form rider on the grid.
He is 10 points ahead of Jorge Martin at the top of the standings after a brilliant end to the first part of the season.
Bagnaia even found time in the summer break to win the Ducati Race of Champions against the manufacturer’s other top riders - and even to get married.
On Friday at Silverstone he was third-fastest, while rival Martin topped the timesheet.
“The bike is very nervous, there is a lot of shaking. We must improve it,” Bagnaia said.
“I’m happy considering this is the first time at Silverstone on a Friday where I am competitive.
“Martin, in this moment, is a bit faster. We already know why, where and what to do.”
He said about his race pace: “Not bad. I didn’t have time to put laps on because I had to stop often in the box.
“The pace was good. Martin was an impressive 58.8 with a used rear but he changed the front.
“Our hard front was better than the medium. We didn’t go with the hard because tomorrow and Sunday will be cooler.”
Bagnaia compared the MotoGP Michelin tyres to the Pirelli tyres he used on a Panigale V4 last weekend at the Ducati Race of Champions.
“Less support,” he described the Pirelli tyres. “Michelin has much more support. Maybe less grip, but support is everything for us because we use braking a lot.
“With more support, you can exaggerate.
“With Pirellis, you have more corner speed but, on the brakes, I was struggling. It was soft.
“You feel a lot, I don’t know if it’s because it was a street bike.
“What impressed me most was the rear. It was incredible.
“I can’t imagine if we used it for a qualifying lap…”
