Pecco Bagnaia admits Ducati hasn’t solved unwelcome MotoGP issue all season

Pecco Bagnaia says he has struggled with a lack of rear grip throughout the entirety of the 2026 MotoGP season so far, following a difficult German Grand Prix.

The double world champion could only qualify 11th at the Sachsenring and was sixth in the grand prix, 11.495s behind Ducati team-mate and race winner Marc Marquez.

Pecco Bagnaia goes into the summer break 65 points from the championship lead in eighth and is yet to win on a Sunday, with just one sprint win and four third-place finishes in grands prix to his credit.

The Italian has battled a lack of rear grip all season, which he claims is an issue only Alex Marquez has experienced, but he believes “they solved it”.

He has now called on Ducati to use the summer break to find a fix for him.

“Considering how much I struggled this weekend, I struggled a lot, finishing 7th and 6th is a great result,” he said of his German Grand Prix.

“And we need to take the positives, which are a few; not that much, but a few.

“And I think we improved the tyre consumption a bit compared to yesterday.

“But I still have the same issue from the first race.

“I don't have rear grip. I can't use the rear for turning the bike and accelerating.

“The only rider that on Ducati is having my same issues is Alex.

“He was having my same issues before Jerez, then they solved it.

“So I really hope that this summer break will help the team to understand what to do.”

"To cause a crash wasn't a good idea..."

Bagnaia closed down Aprilia’s Jorge Martin in the latter stages of Sunday’s race at the Sachsenring, but could find a way to make an overtake.

The Ducati rider says both were “compensating” for different weaknesses and didn’t feel like the risk was worth it.

“He was struggling with the front; I was struggling with the rear,” he added.

“So we were compensating a bit with lap times.

“I tried one lap in corner 11. That was the corner where he was faster than me. But I wasn't close enough, and it was difficult.

“I needed to risk maybe too much to overtake him. To cause a crash wasn't a good idea.

“So I know from the past, and I learned that finishing races is always a better idea. And I tried everything in other situations, but I've never been that close to overtaking.”