Pecco Bagnaia's Old Problem Returns at Silverstone MotoGP

Francesco Bagnaia is haunted by the same old problem. After a summer break disrupted by arm pump surgery, the Ducati Lenovo rider could only manage 13th place in MotoGP practice at Silverstone on Friday (7/8/2026). That result left him out of Q2, along with two other Ducati riders, Franco Morbidelli and Iker Lecuona.

Bagnaia had a chance to improve his time, but during his second time attack, he crashed at Turn 6. The incident meant he couldn't beat his earlier lap of 1m57.691s.

“I'm okay,” said Francesco Bagnaia after practice. “It was a normal lose-the-front, nothing too big, and it was a time attack. I'm struggling a lot to stop the bike and I just tried to brake harder and I lost it.”

Read AlsoBagnaia: Ducati Factory Team Was Slowest in Silverstone Sprint

From TV images, it was clear Bagnaia's bike was vibrating at the front when he crashed. He explained that the vibration was due to instability from the rear tyre pushing him into the corner. “A lot,” the Italian rider said of the vibration. “The bike is not stopping, or the rear is in the air or the rear is pushing. We need to find a balance and it's quite difficult, but it is what it is.”

Interestingly, Bagnaia's teammate, Marc Marquez, fared better, finishing sixth, just behind Fabio Di Giannantonio in third. The reigning champion admitted that he is “far from the podium” at the moment.

Bagnaia said he will study data from other faster Ducati riders. “Other riders with the same bike are faster, so I will try to see the data of the others and see if we can make something to improve,” he said. With the recurring issue, pressure is mounting for Bagnaia to find a solution before qualifying and the race this weekend.