A week after looking untouchable at Motegi, Francesco “Pecco” Bagnaia had one of the worst weekends of his MotoGP career at Mandalika. Not only was he invisible throughout the Indonesian weekend, but he crashed after trying to salvage an already disastrous race. Even more worrying: Ducati's silence, which is fueling a climate of suspicion in the paddock.
Just seven days ago, Pecco dominated the Japan : pole, victory in the Sprint and the GP, imperial pace on his GP25. But in Indonesia, the double world champion ducatI seemed totally lost.
Nightmarish Qualifications : 16th place on the grid, only three drivers behind him. Catastrophic sprint : last in the peloton, without rhythm. Desperate Sunday Race : came from very far away, returned for a while Somkiat Chantra before falling back into anonymity… then literally falling on the track.
The observation is brutal: at the best of his efforts, Bagnaia lapped 1,7 seconds slower than Fermin Aldeguer — the 20-year-old rookie on a satellite GP24 — while he dominated everyone a week earlier.
His words, relayed by voicemail (he refused to face the press in person), rang hollow: « I at least tried to catch up with the penultimate oneI attacked hard and fell. I would like to apologize to my team.The good feelings I had in Japan were non-existent here. I have no solution, but technicians will analyze the data. » An admission of helplessness that contrasts violently with his assurance from Motegi.
As the paddock sought to understand, no clear technical explanation was provided by Ducati. Rumors spread: journalist Mat Oxley even wrote about X, whom some suspected Bagnaia for driving a GP24 in Japan (different engine and homologation), which would have violated the rules.
From hero to zero ❌ @PeccoBagnaia didn't finish today's race either, as the Italian crashed out from last 😔#IndonesianGP ️ pic.twitter.com/VygnpOPHr9
- MotoGP @ 🏁 (@MotoGP) October 5, 2025
Between compassion and transparency: the Ducati dilemma with Pecco Bagnaia
Italian journalist Paolo Scalera analyzed this strategy in a post on GP OneHis observation: Ducati clearly wants to protect her champion after a psychologically disastrous weekend. But this choice of silence could backfire.
*In the age of telemetry, nothing remains secret: “We are no longer in the 90s where everything was based on sensations. Every lap is traceable, every problem is identifiable. "
The void feeds the rumors: “The more Ducati keeps quiet, the more fantasies spread: illegal engine, hidden problem, even internal sabotage.” Credibility at stake: protect bagnaia is understandable, but suggesting technical manipulation could tarnish the image of Borgo Panigale itself.
Scalera goes so far as to suggest that Ducati could, without revealing everything, explain a minimum or involve a test pilot like Michele Pirro to bring clarity.
It's obvious that Ducati wants to avoid crushing its driver under pressure at a delicate moment — bagnaia just saw Marc Marquez crowned champion in 2025 and is undoubtedly experiencing a loss of confidence. But the strategy of total silence could come at a cost.
It fuels the distrust of the media and fans, it fuels rumors of irregularities, it blurs the image of technical reliability that Ducati has been boasting for years. Scalera's title sounds like a warning: "The silence of the innocent can be costly, even for champions."
In an ultra-connected MotoGP where every piece of data circulates, storytelling counts as much as performance. Ducati, champion on the track, risks losing the battle of perception if she lets others write the story.
The Indonesian GP will go down as one of the darkest weekends of Pecco Bagnaia — not only in sporting terms, but also in terms of image. Between a humiliating fall, viral rumors and minimalist communication, Ducati seems to have underestimated the media impact of his silence.
If the brand wants to protect its champion while keeping its credibility intact, it will have to find a balance: speaking just enough to kill rumors before they become certainties.
