- Bagnaia has not scored a single championship point since the Sachsenring on 12 July
- Franco Morbidelli calls for radio messages and blue flags along the lines of Formula 1
- Joan Mir does not know whether he will be able to ride Sunday’s Grand Prix at all
Saturday at Misano ended with a close duel at the front and with open questions for a large part of the field. The interviews after the sprint were less about the result than about causes: about a bike that no longer does what its rider expects, about penalties for riding too slowly and about a tyre that is a choice for some and the only option for others. The Grand Prix of San Marino is round 14 of 22 in the 2026 MotoGP season, and on the Adriatic coast it becomes clear in concentrated form where the manufacturers stand in the closing stages.
Why does Bagnaia speak of humiliation after the Misano sprint?
Bagnaia finished 13th in the sprint and describes his situation as frustrating and humiliating. It was his last home race as a Ducati factory rider, and he arrived there having gone almost two months without a championship point.
The two-time world champion had qualified only 14th, the worst result of his career at this circuit. In the race he gained exactly one position. At the flag he was 17.8 seconds behind his team-mate Marc Marquez, who won the sprint.
After the race Bagnaia said he felt “frustrated, but also humiliated”. He pointed out that, in his view, the difference between his bike and the other Ducatis is easy to see, but the reason for it is not. His team has no answer either. From next season Bagnaia will ride for the Aprilia factory team, where a four-year contract awaits him.
What makes his Ducati different from the other machines?
Bagnaia describes a bike that reacts the wrong way round to setup changes. In the past more load on the rear wheel helped when grip was missing; today it makes him lose even more traction.
He explained that on Saturday morning he felt no difference between a soft and a medium front tyre. A brand new soft rear felt like one that had already been used. For him that is an indication that the problem is a big one and runs deeper than setup.
It becomes particularly obvious under braking. Normally a MotoGP rider slows down using both tyres, that is with the front brake plus engine braking at the rear. That is exactly what does not work for Bagnaia at the moment: when he brakes with both wheels it gets worse than when he only uses the front. He describes the feeling on turn-in as if he were entering the corner with the clutch pulled in, so with no engine braking at all. A bike cannot work that way, he says.
Why did Bezzecchi lose time in the opening laps?
Marco Bezzecchi puts his early pace deficit down to a stability problem with a full tank. The rear pushed and thereby loaded the front, and by his own account that has been with him for the past two Grand Prix weekends.
The pole-sitter lost the lead to Marquez as early as the first corner and was unable to close back up in the following laps. Bezzecchi explained that he had felt considerably better in free practice, whereas in the first three or four race laps with a full tank he finds it harder. Only when his confidence returned did he get quicker.
Unlike two weeks earlier at Aragon, he does not see a mistake on his own side. There Marquez had been more aggressive and he himself too cautious. At Misano he braked hard and closed the line. His conclusion about the start was accordingly: “I did everything right”. Bezzecchi ran the soft rear tyre and did not want to commit to a compound before the Grand Prix, because wear at Misano is low.
Why is Morbidelli calling for a warning system like in Formula 1?
Morbidelli considers the existing rule inadequate and would like radio messages, dashboard displays and blue flags. He himself has to serve a long lap penalty on Sunday, that is ride a marked longer route alongside the racing line, which costs between two and five seconds depending on the track.
The penalty was imposed because he held up Enea Bastianini in Friday practice. In the stewards’ document the incident is classed as dangerous slow riding, and explicit reference is made to several offences of this kind during the current season. It was not the only case this weekend: Johann Zarco drops three grid positions for the Grand Prix because he impeded Bezzecchi in the second qualifying session.
Asked by Italian media why it keeps happening to him, Morbidelli replied: “I’m dumber than the other riders”. He added that a rule intended to serve safety has to be foolproof.
His comparison with Formula 1 is aimed at the flow of information. There, drivers are told over the radio during slow laps who is approaching from behind and how far away they are. He says it makes him smile, because car drivers have four wheels and mirrors, while MotoGP riders have to turn round on two wheels at high speed. A combination of dashboard display, radio message and blue flag would solve the problem in his view. MotoGP is planning a radio system intended to warn riders about hazards. Whether approaching riders will also be reported through it is so far open.
How does Acosta rate his battle with Aldeguer?
Pedro Acosta considers the duel fair, but expensive for both sides. He finished sixth, while Fermin Aldeguer dropped back to eighth.
Aldeguer had started from third on the grid and lost positions to Fabio Di Giannantonio and Jorge Martin as early as the first lap. Acosta attacked him shortly afterwards, the two stayed alongside each other until the next corner and ran wide in the process. Alex Marquez used the gap and came through, later Raul Fernandez as well. Acosta said of the sequence: “This cost us a lot of time”. Without the duel, both would in his view have been closer to Di Giannantonio and Martin.
As the cause of his weak Saturday he names a problem under deceleration. Bringing the bike to a stop is normally one of his strengths, and at Misano that was exactly what he lacked. According to him, this problem currently affects every KTM.
Quartararo’s crash and the situation at Yamaha
Fabio Quartararo crashed at turn 14 while attacking Diogo Moreira for eleventh place. He describes the duel as a yo-yo race in which the gaps kept shifting on the straights.
To set up the move he went to the limit late in the corners before it. In doing so he lacked support at the rear, by his own account, the front locked already on turn-in, and he ended up on the inside next to Moreira. He rejoined and finished last.
His team-mate Alex Rins rated the Frenchman’s pace after the crash as remarkable and expects a strong race on Sunday. For Yamaha as a whole Saturday was hard going: the brand’s best rider was Jack Miller in 17th.
How is Joan Mir doing ahead of the Grand Prix?
Mir is struggling at Misano with an unclear infection and does not know whether he will be able to start on Sunday. He finished 20th in the sprint, 22 seconds behind the leaders.
The 2020 world champion says he has hardly any strength and has already seen a doctor. He described his condition with the words “I don’t feel at 50%”. On top of that come headaches and the feeling that he cannot work precisely. Treatment is expected to take place in the coming week. On Friday things had still been reasonably manageable, after that it got worse. Back in 2024 Mir had already missed the Grand Prix of San Marino because of an illness.
Apart from that, Honda is well placed at Misano. Luca Marini, Zarco and Moreira took ninth to eleventh in the sprint.
What the tyre choice reveals about the pecking order
It was striking on Saturday that the leading riders and the rest of the field picked different rear tyres. The larger share started on the soft compound, while Marquez and some of his pursuers took the medium.
Marquez justified his choice by pointing to crashes among Ducati riders in qualifying. There the grip of the soft rear had overloaded the front. For Honda the calculation is exactly the other way round. Marini explained that his bike lacks grip, so the soft tyre was the only option and the medium compound never a topic. About the competition he said that if they have more grip and still run the medium, then “it’s better for them”. The advantage lies in more stability on corner exit and in the fast third sector.
For the 27-lap Grand Prix, Honda reverses the choice. Marini describes it as an annual pattern at this circuit: soft in the sprint, medium in the race. The soft tyre becomes restless on corner exit as wear increases and costs acceleration, while the medium compound can be pushed all the way to the end.
Frequently asked questions
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Why was Bagnaia only 13th at Misano 2026?
By his own account Bagnaia has no feeling at all for grip at the rear. He felt no difference between the soft and the medium front tyre, nor between a new and a used soft rear. He started from 14th after his worst ever Misano qualifying and gained one position in the race.
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How long has Bagnaia been without championship points?
Bagnaia has been without a point since the Sachsenring on 12 July. At Misano he finished 13th, one place outside the points, and was 17.8 seconds behind sprint winner Marc Marquez.
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What penalties were handed out at the Grand Prix of San Marino?
Two riders were penalised for impeding, both for the Grand Prix only. Franco Morbidelli has to serve a long lap penalty for holding up Enea Bastianini in Friday practice. Johann Zarco drops three grid positions for impeding Bezzecchi in the second qualifying session.
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Will Joan Mir start the Grand Prix at Misano?
That was open after the sprint. Mir is struggling with an unclear infection, says he does not even feel half fit and wants to decide from day to day. Treatment is planned for the following week.
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Which rear tyre did the riders choose for the sprint?
The larger share of the field ran the soft compound, while Marc Marquez and some of his pursuers took the medium. According to Luca Marini the soft tyre was the only option for Honda, because the bike otherwise lacks grip. For the 27-lap race, however, Honda is planning on the medium compound.
