NEIL HODGSON SAYS APRILIA MAY REGRET SIGNING BAGNAIA AFTER MISANO STRUGGLES

Neil Hodgson believes Aprilia may already be having second thoughts about its decision to sign Francesco Bagnaia for the 2027 MotoGP season, pointing to what he saw from the Ducati rider during a difficult Friday at Misano. Bagnaia endured a rough start to the 2026 San Marino Grand Prix weekend, finding himself at the bottom of the practice timesheets and lingering near the foot of the order alongside the four Yamaha riders.

In timed pre-qualifying action at Misano, Bagnaia’s best lap on the Ducati GP26 came in at 1:31.459. That left him behind not only the faster front-runners but also behind the other Ducati riders on track. Hodgson highlighted that only Pramac’s Jack Miller (1:31.567) and Toprak Razgatlıoglu (1:32.071) were slower than Bagnaia in the session. The key point for Hodgson was that it didn’t look like a general Ducati problem: he was the only rider struggling in that way, while the rest of the GP26 field remained closer to the pace.

Marco Bezzecchi led the way for Aprilia in practice with a 1:30.144, while Bagnaia’s Ducati teammates Marc Marquez, Alex Marquez and Fabio Di Giannantonio placed second, third and fourth respectively. Even Franco Morbidelli, riding a Ducati GP25, was only 0.271 seconds off Bezzecchi’s benchmark, reinforcing Hodgson’s view that Bagnaia’s issue was more personal than machine-wide.

The situation also drew comments from Sylvain Guintoli, who suggested Bagnaia’s “farewell tour” from Ducati could be a long one. Hodgson, speaking on TNT Sports 2, reacted sharply to the gap and the implications for Bagnaia’s immediate future. “Bagnaia, down in 19th. What’s he going to say when he pulls into the pits? The next slowest Ducati is point-eight of a second quicker,” Hodgson said. Guintoli responded: “It’s going to be a long end of season, isn’t it? It’s sad to see, it really is… The picture will change completely [in 2027], because all the front-end feel issues that he’s talking about, and he’s obviously very sensitive to that, will be different.”

Bagnaia’s move is already set in motion. Ducati have signed KTM star Pedro Acosta to replace him as Marc Marquez’s teammate next year, while Bagnaia has agreed a four-year contract with Aprilia to take over as Bezzecchi’s teammate in 2027, replacing Jorge Martin. Hodgson’s concern is that the contract length may now look questionable given Bagnaia’s ongoing struggles on the Ducati.

Bagnaia had pushed for the four-year deal to secure his place with Aprilia for the 2027 campaign, as the Noale squad moved to cover the departure of Martin, who was heading to Yamaha. While it was initially reported as a two-year agreement with options up to 2030, Bagnaia insisted it is a four-year contract despite the broader MotoGP trend of teams offering shorter terms. Hodgson suggested that, based on current form, Aprilia may not feel as confident about committing long-term. “Well, if I’m going to be honest, I don’t think if I were Aprilia, I’d want him on a four-year contract right now,” he added.

Aprilia’s hope is that the 2027 rule changes—less aerodynamics and the removal of ride height devices—along with Pirelli replacing Michelin, will help Bagnaia regain the performance level needed to justify the long deal. However, Hodgson’s argument is that the evidence from Ducati’s current season does not yet show a turnaround.

Bagnaia has been struggling for an extended period, with his results showing a lack of consistency. The report notes that he has finished eight of his last 20 Grands Prix, dating back to his crash in the 2025 San Marino GP. In 2025, he ended the year with six DNFs in seven rounds, aside from a double success in Japan with Sprint and Grand Prix wins. In 2026 so far, he has already failed to finish six of the 13 races.

There have also been injury and incident complications. The report states that his crash at Silverstone in August was linked to a technical issue rather than rider error, with the fall occurring suddenly on the exit of Luffield. At Aragon, however, the circumstances were different, and Bagnaia has claimed his right hand is “still swollen” after his recent injury troubles.

With Bagnaia’s Ducati farewell season already looking difficult, Hodgson’s message is clear: Aprilia’s long-term bet may be under pressure unless the 2027 transition brings the improvement Guintoli expects—especially if the front-end feel problems Bagnaia has discussed truly do change under the new regulations.