Pecco Bagnaia, the two-time Ducati MotoGP champion, is having a difficult start to the 2025 season. Crushed by his teammate Marc Marquez, the Italian is having doubts, to the point of wanting to give up the GP25 to return to the GP24 in Austin (March 27-29). His father, Pietro Bagnaia, opens up about this tricky situation: don't panic, the situation simply illustrates a champion searching for his "feel" against a Marc in a state of grace. Analysis from a confident dad...
Peter Bagnaia, the father of the double world champion Pecco Bagnaia, confided in Mowmag on the delicate situation his son is going through at the start of the MotoGP season. While Pecco Bagnaia seems to be struggling with his Ducati, unable to return to his usual level, his father speaks frankly about the technical challenges, the mental pressure and... the overwhelming presence of Marc Marquez.
« Pecco is not happy, he is a driver, a champion and he wants to win ", he immediately says Pietro Bagnaia. A clear statement for a driver used to dominating. But today, the wind has changed. Right now there is a rider, not just any rider, but an eight-time world champion named Marc Marquez, who objectively manages to go faster and who, like all those who go faster, wins. » This is what is said. Marquez, the MotoGP ogre, is back, and he's making even the best tremble.
But what is missing from bagnaia to compete? There is something missing, not much, but that does not allow him to have those extra two tenths of a second he needs " explains his father. Two tenths, an eternity in MotoGP. Is it a problem with the machine, confidence, riding? " I don't know if it's a question of adapting to the bike, confidence, technique, or simply riding. It could also be a combination of all of these. Let's say he hasn't entered the bubble yet.. » A bubble that Marquez, he seems to have integrated it for a long time.
And precisely, let's talk about Marquez. The rumors are rife: Ducati would focus more on Spanish than on bagnaia. An idea that Pietro dismisses with a wave of his hand, but with a hint of sarcasm. Pecco represents the history of Ducati, but who really thinks that Dall'Igna or the team, now under the spell of Marc Marquez, have abandoned him? "The question is asked, and it stings. Yet, Pietro insists: " Pecco is grateful to have such a champion on his team, someone to beat and, whatever happens, someone to learn from »
Pietro Bagnaia: " We are working hard to regain the feeling that allowed us to win eleven out of twenty Grands Prix last year. »
But let's not be mistaken: behind this displayed gratitude, there is a rivalry that is taking hold. Pecco and Marc are two teammates, two rivals who want to fight " recalls Pietro. And if some fans already see an open war between the two drivers, the father of bagnaia tempers: " This is really absurd and it harms the sport.. » However, he admits that the comparison with Marquez is inevitable. The fact that Pecco can be compared to someone like that is only an encouragement, something positive »
But the real question remains: why? bagnaia Is he struggling to get back to his best? For Pietro, the answer is as much technical as mental. With Ducati, they probably focused on new features which still need to be perfected. » A confession that speaks volumes about the adjustments made to the bike, which do not yet seem to bear fruit. I am convinced that we are working hard to find that feeling again which, for example, last year allowed us to win eleven out of twenty Grand Prix »
And then there is the mind. Pecco says today: "It's me who has to find the feeling and find my speed again.". » A state of mind that Pietro sums up in a few words: “ Free yourself! Free yourself and do what you feel, as you feel, with that lightness that is not superficiality, but the ability to act without constraint.. » A father's advice, but also a call for lucidity. Some say that Pecco is cold, it is not coldness: it is lucidity »
Peter Bagnaia recalls an obvious fact: " Marc is now in a state that Pecco has not yet found. "A state of grace, almost mystical, that only a champion like Marquez can achieve." Today, Marc has nothing to lose, but in the sense that he has so much freedom of mind that if they put the back wheel on the front he would probably win anyway. » An image that speaks volumes about the Spaniard's absolute confidence.
But Pietro remains optimistic for his son: " I don't know how long it will take to get back to 100%, but I have a feeling we're almost there.. From Qatar, perhaps, everything will work better.. » In the meantime, we will have to go through it Austin, Texan garden of Marc Marquez ...
