PECCO BATTLES BRAKING, TIRE PRESSURE, RIVALS, FEELING, GRIP — BUT WITH DETERMINATION AND TALENT HE TAKES HIS FIRST POLE OF THE SEASON AND NEARLY MAKES THE PODIUM. OUR BAGNAIA NOW LOOKS TO THE SECOND HALF OF THE CHAMPIONSHIP AND TO 2026 WITH CONFIDENCE.
Motorcycle races are as unpredictable as a lottery like numbers spinning on a wheel. The twelfth round of MotoGP 2025 was full of surprises, overtakes, satisfactions, and disappointments. Our Suomy Rider managed to secure his first pole position of the season, but it wasn’t enough to get him on the podium, not in the Sprint nor in the race, though he came close.
SPRINT RACE
Pecco, riding our S1-XR GP, starts from pole position. Everything looks promising, even though everyone, Pecco above all, knows the braking and grip issues are still there. Optimism fades almost immediately, giving way to tension. Bagnaia falters on lap five, struggling with tire pressure problems. He loses three positions: our rider drops to fifth, then slips to seventh place.
According to post-race statements, a tire issue alert appeared on Pecco’s dashboard, but it turned out to be a false signal. Still, the race was compromised. Interestingly, low tire pressure was also detected on his teammate’s bike.
In the end, our Pecco finishes the Sprint in seventh place.
RACE
Pecco’s focus, inside our Suomy S1-XR GP, is locked on Turn 1. You can picture him: wide-eyed and alert. He starts from pole — his first after 11 races! The tension is sky-high. But the dream of leading the race vanishes within a few corners. Several riders overtake him, and that “probably” takes a toll on his concentration.
Still, our Pecco doesn’t give up. Gradually, he regains pace, courage, and speed. He closes in on the rider in third place but can’t quite make the pass, finishing fourth.
After the race, Francesco said he was still having issues with braking and corner entry. One of the strongest riders under braking, he reported a significant lack of front-end feel during the most crucial braking phases. In the hardest braking zones, the bike either wants to tuck or runs wide. The problem seems to improve somewhat as the bike gets lighter with fuel consumption. As the bike becomes lighter, Pecco also appears to gain more grip and better corner-exit feeling.Now all we can do is look ahead with hope to the thirteenth round of the championship, which will take place in Austria.
Pecco, go free!
“I felt comfortable in the race and was riding well. I was losing a little ground to Marc, but I had a gap over the riders behind, and I think I could have managed the situation. Already on the grid we had a small electronics glitch, and during the race I received messages instructing me to perform a specific action. In the end, the front-tyre pressure was actually correct, so I shouldn’t have let the others through. The team is analysing the data to understand what really happened. It’s a pity, because we were doing well and my riding was much more effective today, especially under braking.”
Francesco Bagnaia (#63 Ducati Lenovo Team) – Sprint Race 7°
“As the race progressed, I managed rear-end traction better and felt more comfortable as soon as I lowered the traction control level. As we didn’t have a dry FP2, I wasn’t able to do proper work with the mapping, so with less traction control this area did improve. The front-end, however, did not allow me to hit the brakes hard. I’ve always been a rider who was hard to pass under braking, while the situation is opposite right now. We’re working in different areas in order to improve. Surely, the approach to the season has changed after these many races as it’s hard to think about fighting with Marc in these conditions — we must be realists. We need to reset and do the best we can, keeping Alex (Márquez) as our reference point.”
Francesco Bagnaia (#63 Ducati Lenovo Team) – Race 4°
World Standings P. 3
Next Round:
AUSTRIAN GP
Red Bull Ring – Spielberg
August 15-17th
Click the button below to find out all the images of the #SuomyCrew during the weekend in Brno.
