BAGNAIA LEFT SILVERSTONE AFTER FRONT-END CRASH, CALLS IT HARD TO ACCEPT

Francesco Bagnaia’s British MotoGP weekend at Silverstone turned into a frustrating outing for the Ducati factory rider, ending early after a crash that left him searching for answers. The two-time world champion watched from the pit lane as his front end folded after seven laps, forcing him out while his Gresini-Ducati teammate Alex Marquez battled with Marco Bezzecchi for third.

Bagnaia had started the race from lap one in 14th, before slipping to 18th. At the moment of his fall, he was riding in 15th. Speaking afterwards, he described the incident as something he had never experienced before. “I asked myself what was going on. I’ve never had such a crash—I’ve never lost control of the front tyre at the exit of a corner,” Bagnaia said, adding that even reviewing the data did not provide a clear explanation. “Even when you look at the data, it’s hard to read anything from it. I lost the grip within a millisecond and that was it. It was really very strange—but that’s it. It’s very hard to accept.”

The crash came against the backdrop of a difficult stretch for Bagnaia, who said the weekend was among the hardest of the year. “It was already one of the most difficult weekends of the year. I had problems being quick—no, that’s wrong—I was never really quick. I have to say it: I had problems staying in touch with the top 10,” he explained. While he believed there was a chance to finish among the fastest ten, he admitted that the situation deteriorated. “We need to get away from this—I don’t want to experience another weekend like this.”

Bagnaia also addressed what Ducati changed for the race, insisting that the issue was not simply a setup adjustment. “We changed everything for the race here—the setup and the electronics—but the problem isn’t there,” he said. His main concern was grip: “The difficulty is: since the first race of the season I don’t feel grip on the bike—just zero. We don’t know what to do. At Ducati there are riders who are happy with the grip and it feels good to them. It’s very difficult to understand.”

With the result, Bagnaia also lost further ground to championship leader Pedro Acosta.