#AragonGP

  ¬  August 31th 2026

A difficult weekend for Pecco Bagnaia in Aragón: after qualifying eighth and finishing 11th in the Sprint, Sunday’s race ended with a crash. In Moto2, Ivan Ortolá was instead the star of a great comeback, moving from 15th on the grid to a fifth-place finish. Great job, Ivan!

The Aragón Grand Prix ended on a challenging note for our Suomy Rider Pecco Bagnaia. On the technical and spectacular MotorLand Aragón circuit, the Ducati Lenovo Team rider faced a weekend marked by a lack of feeling and, above all, persistent rear grip issues, a problem that had already emerged during Friday’s opening sessions and has remained a recurring issue throughout the 2026 season. After a difficult Friday, which saw him finish 13th and forced to go through Q1, Pecco reacted on Saturday by successfully making it through to Q2 and securing eighth place on the grid. In the Sprint, however, difficulties with traction under acceleration prevented him from expressing his full potential, leaving him to finish in 11th position. Sunday’s main race, which had started with a strong launch, unfortunately came to an end on lap six after a crash forced Bagnaia to retire. There was plenty to celebrate in Moto2, however, with Ivan Ortolà putting together a weekend full of character and an incredible comeback during the race.

SPRINT RACE

It was therefore a difficult weekend for our Pecco. Despite the challenges, he once again showed his determination not to give up and to continue working closely with the team to come through a difficult phase of the season. Saturday at the Aragón Grand Prix represented a reaction day for Pecco Bagnaia after the difficulties encountered during Friday’s practice. Forced to go through Q1 after finishing Friday in 13th position, the Ducati Lenovo Team rider managed to find a positive direction in his work with the team, securing a place in Q2.

Bagnaia finished qualifying in eighth position, just 0.709 seconds away from pole position. The Sprint, however, proved more challenging. Starting from eighth on the grid, Pecco was unable to maintain the pace of the leading group, struggling particularly with traction when exiting corners. After eleven laps, the Italian rider crossed the finish line in 11th position.

– Sprint Race 11° –

“Today was better than yesterday. This morning we managed to improve a few aspects of the bike and qualifying wasn’t bad. I was definitely expecting something more, but for the first time this weekend I managed to have a good feeling with the bike. We need to keep working. The pace this morning wasn’t bad and was definitely better than in the Sprint. We need to understand the reason for this change ahead of tomorrow’s race, because this afternoon I struggled with traction.”

RACE

Sunday’s main race unfortunately came to an early end for Pecco Bagnaia. Starting from eighth position, the Ducati rider made a good start and immediately tried to stay with the group ahead. However, the rear grip issue remained evident throughout the main race, particularly during acceleration. This difficulty affected Pecco’s pace from the opening laps and forced him to adopt a more conservative approach to power delivery. On lap six, while running in seventh position, Bagnaia crashed at the little Corkscrew, bringing his race to an early end. It was a bitter ending to a weekend in which the Italian rider, together with his team, had worked hard to find a solution to the difficulties he was experiencing with the feeling of the Desmosedici GP26. The Aragón result does not, however, overshadow the determination shown by Pecco and the team in their efforts to find a way out of this particularly challenging phase. The work will continue at the upcoming rounds, with the aim of progressively regaining competitiveness and confidence.

– Race DNF –

Francesco Bagnaia (#63 Ducati Lenovo Team) 

“I made a reasonably good start and tried to follow the group in front of me, but I wasn’t competitive enough to do so, especially under acceleration. I had no grip and, after just five laps, I had already changed the engine mapping to preserve the tyres. I was simply trying to maintain the pace and, unfortunately, I crashed at a point where I had already had a warning on the previous lap. I lost the rear when I leaned to the left and, when I recovered it, I lost the front. Unfortunately, when I try to push, I end up risking a crash.”