Gigi Dall'Igna “doing utmost to support” Pecco Bagnaia after “difficult” Thai MotoGP

Ducati general manager Gigi Dall’Igna has defended Pecco Bagnaia’s “difficult” MotoGP Thai Grand Prix weekend and says the brand is “doing our utmost to support him”.

Double MotoGP world champion Bagnaia was left playing catch-up coming into the opening round of the 2025 season after a tough final test at Buriram.

Never on terms in pace to team-mate Marc Marquez, Bagnaia could manage no more than third in both the sprint and grand prix in Thailand.

Read more: How Marc Marquez spared his rivals from brutal Thai GP beatdown

While he only finished 2.398s behind Marquez in the grand prix, that gap was set to be bigger had the latter not dropped behind Gresini’s Alex Marquez to boost his front tyre pressure and avoid a penalty.

After the grand prix, Bagnaia said he as “not here to finish third” and felt his struggles in testing directly impacted his results.

Ducati's Gigi Dall'Igna defends Pecco Bagnaia

Dall’Igna supports this point of view and says Bagnaia “deserves more” than the two third-place finishes he scored.

“For Pecco these were two difficult races, two third spots that I however consider extremely important,” Dall’Igna said in his Ducati debrief.

“He certainly deserves more than just that, but on a track that he does not find congenial, and to still fully rediscover feeling with the bike, it was very important to be satisfied without risking undesirable zeroes (DNFs).

“I think that weighing considerably on his uncertain feeling with the bike were the tests, that in his case had proven to be particularly troublesome and prevented him from riding with the continuity needed.

“I’m convinced that in the races to follow, he will be able to regain that same confidence he had achieved by the end of last season and will once again be vying for victory.

“From our side we will be doing our utmost to support him.”

Commenting on Marquez’s grand prix win in Thailand, Dall’Igna branded it as one “that smacks of pure talent and extreme skill”.

“A fast and decisive Marc Marquez masterfully imposed himself with a pace unmatchable by all the others, securing pole position, sprint [win], race [win] and fastest lap, demonstrating an incredible feeling.

“Who could ask for anything more?.

“In order to increase the front tyre pressure and to avoid the penalty regulation, he had to let his brother pass in front, immediately getting into his slipstream, trying to stay as close to the wheel as possible, despite all the risks that this entails for bike and rider, given the extremely high temperatures of the Thai track, finally gifting us with a magic victory that smacks of pure talent and supreme skill.”