Pecco Bagnaia talks last-turn Ogura showdown, dash confusion at Mugello MotoGP

Pecco Bagnaia stood on a MotoGP podium for the first time this season in front of his home fans at Mugello on Sunday.

But only after repelling a last turn showdown with Ai Ogura.

Bagnaia held the race lead from laps 3 to 13, when he could no longer contain the Aprilias of Marco Bezzecchi and then Jorge Martin.

“I tried not to lose too much rear grip, but after half a race I started to struggle a bit,” Bagnaia said.

“I knew that Bez was close to me. So I said, OK, he will attack, but I need to calm down because if not, I will not be on the podium.”

Bagnaia was in danger of having third place whipped away from him by Trackhouse rider Ogura, who dived underneath at the very final corner.

However, Bagnaia cut back under the Japanese and hung on the chequered flag.

“When I started the lap with 1.4s over Ogura, I said ‘he will arrive’. Because normally in the last laps he's amazing,” Bagnaia said.

“I started to hear his bike in corner 12 and I said, OK, I need to brake as hard as I can in the last corner to don't let him have the space. And if he will try to overtake me, he'll go wide.

“So the strategy was correct, but a bit on the limit, because losing the podium like this at the last corner could have been a disaster.

“So I tried everything.”

Although Bagnaia emerged ahead, there was still a risk that Ogura might slipstream past him on the run to the chequered flag.

“But today my bike was a rocket ship, so it was difficult to be overtaken again. It's true that in the last corner, I was spinning quite a lot, so I just hoped to make the best exit as possible,” said Bagnaia.

“I leaned a lot in the bump to don't make the bike wheelie, and that was enough to finish on the podium. But thanks also to my engine, because it was really strong.”

Dash confusion

Bagnaia was especially pleased to see the chequered flag since his dashboard suggest there was still one more lap.

“I was a bit confused because my bike was saying to me, ‘two laps to go’. 

"When I saw the chequered flag I said, ‘Thank you so much!’ Because it was impossible to remain in front for another lap.”

"We are arriving"

Although Bagnaia officially matched his third-place finish from Catalunya, that result came after a post-race penalty, meaning he missed the podium ceremony.

Sunday was thus the first time he had stood on a grand prix rostrum since Motegi 2025.

Bagnaia confessed it had been a big boost.

“It's quite clear that we are struggling. We are missing rear grip, also compared to other Ducatis. So we are trying to follow another way,” he explained.

“In my case, in the last two seasons, the bike started to have a different balance. And we are just trying to move back the balance in the position I prefer, and the results are arriving.

“So we just move forward little step by step, little step, but we are arriving, and I'm pretty sure that in the future we'll be there fighting with them, that in that moment are a bit faster.”

Despite Bagnaia’s top Ducati performance he is only seventh in the world championship and 91 points behind Bezzecchi.