Davide Tardozzi slams Pecco Bagnaia: “These guys are kicking your ass”

Footage released as part of a new three-part MotoGP series from Ducati has revealed a fairly fiery moment between Francesco Bagnaia and Davide Tardozzi.

The series, called Dream On: Ducati and Bagnaia’s Pursuit of Glory, looks to give a behind-the-scenes look at the final rounds of the 2024 MotoGP World Championship from within the Ducati Lenovo Team, focused on Bagnaia.

Perhaps the key point of the first episode, published on Ducati’s YouTube channel on 15 December, comes after the Sprint at the Thai Grand Prix.

Bagnaia, starting from pole position, was third after the first corner when his title rival, Jorge Martin, passed him on the inside on the run to turn one.

The Italian reclaimed track position from Martin on the exit of the corner, but the Spaniard re-passed him on the change of direction from turn six to turn seven later in the race, demoting Bagnaia back to third.

The episode shows a discussion in Bagnaia’s truck after the Sprint, with Bagnaia, his wife, sister, press officer, and Ducati Lenovo Team manager Davide Tardozzi present.

“Today, Martin had the guts,” Tardozzi told Bagnaia.

“The guts to knock you out. [...] He had already decided that he was going to bother you. He did what he had to do.

“That’s what you’ve got to do tomorrow. You can’t always be the gentleman. You just can’t, because these guys are kicking your ass.

“He [Martin] targeted you at the first corner, he had already decided that he was going to run into you. There’s no doubt about that.

“So you need to stop being such a gentleman, because these guys will tear you apart.”

The day after, a late decision — the process of making of which was also shown in this first episode of Dream On —- to change Bagnaia’s primary bike to a wet setup helped him to bounce back from the disappointment of the Sprint and win the Grand Prix, his first victory in the premier class in wet conditions.