- Bagnaia says he is not allowed to run a different base setup
- Third retirement in a row, fourth in the past five races
- Michelin brings a stiffer rear tyre casing for Spielberg
The weekend on the Adriatic coast reshuffled the top of the standings, yet the more interesting stories played out away from the podium. At Ducati it became visible how little room the long-serving factory rider apparently still has. At Aprilia the question is why the strongest bike in the field right now has lost the championship lead. And at Yamaha and Honda two riders had to retire without technology or a crash being responsible.
What did Bagnaia say on the open mic?
Bagnaia told his colleague Di Giannantonio that he is not allowed to change the base setup of his Ducati. The two were waiting for their interviews when the DAZN cameras picked up the conversation.
Bagnaia described it as feeling like pulling the clutch while braking. The add-on part at the rear was his smallest problem, he said; he fits whatever he is told to fit and has long since tried everything. Between the soft and the medium compound he feels no difference at the front, and just as little between a used and a fresh tyre. Di Giannantonio then suggested running a simpler base setup, the way he does himself. Bagnaia’s answer was brief: “Non me lo fanno fare.” (“They don’t let me do it.”) The VR46 rider ended the conversation by saying he gives up.
Which specific change he meant remains open. Bagnaia himself offers a clue, because even before the weekend he had described what would help him and what he will not get: he is convinced he does not need new parts, but old ones. At the same time he took the blame on himself, because other riders are fast on the same bike. In Misano he failed to get out of Q1, finished the sprint thirteenth and crashed out of the race on lap six. He cannot explain the state he is in: in Brno the grip level was similarly high, yet he felt considerably better there, while in Misano he felt practically nothing, even as the other Ducati riders talked about plenty of grip.
Why is Aprilia not converting its advantage into points?
Because the Sundays are missing, not the pace. In the seven races since the Italian GP, Marc Marquez has taken 203 of the 259 available points, Jorge Martin scored 118 and Marco Bezzecchi 68.
After the Italian GP in May, Marquez was still 102 points off the top of the standings. That gap is completely gone, and he closed it with a right shoulder that according to his surgeon reaches only about half of its capacity. The cause is his crash at the Indonesian GP last October, which resulted in nerve damage and had to be operated on.
Aprilia’s record is not down to the machinery. Bezzecchi set a lap record under 1:30 minutes in Misano and started from pole. Marquez reported that while chasing that time he set an internal Ducati lean angle record at 65 degrees and still lost almost two tenths of a second. What is costing the brand instead is a chain of retirements and setbacks: Bezzecchi’s renewed zero on Sunday, Martin’s arm pump in the race and the injury to Ai Ogura, who has been out since before the Aragon GP and is therefore unavailable as the brand’s third possible contender.
That leaves a factor no development department can influence: neither Bezzecchi nor Martin has yet fought a full title campaign against Marquez. Bezzecchi himself rejects any link between pressure and his crash; his stated goal for now is to return to the form he had at the start of the season.
Why did Alex Rins and Joan Mir retire from the race?
Both withdrew for health reasons, not because of a technical failure or a crash. Rins was struggling with a migraine and severe nausea, Mir with persistent weakness.
Rins started twentieth and dropped to the back of the field on lap two when Toprak Razgatlioglu went past. For ten laps he kept in touch with Franco Morbidelli after the Italian had served his long lap penalty; on lap 17 of 27 he pulled into the pits. Yamaha team director Massimo Meregalli called that disappointing for the rider, but stressed that “safety always has to come first”, especially in this sport. With Jack Miller also retiring with a technical problem, only two Yamahas reached the finish: Fabio Quartararo in tenth and Razgatlioglu in twelfth.
Mir gave up as early as lap six, shortly after Rins had passed him. He had neither energy nor strength on the bike; carrying on alone would have achieved nothing and only made things worse. Ahead of the Austrian weekend he faces medical checks to clarify his physical condition.
Helmet radio reaches a usable level
Away from the racing, a project is making progress that could change communication in the premier class. Luca Marini, one of the riders involved in the development, now describes the state of the radio technology in the helmet as good. The breakthrough apparently came with an earpiece that is individually moulded for each rider.
Initially the system is intended to carry safety messages from race control, possibly from 2027. Marini is also working on a microphone in the helmet that would allow two-way communication between rider and pit box. Speaking while riding still has its limits, and he considers Misano an unsuitable test track because of its high demands on the rider. Getting used to it takes time as well, because riders have been used to their own earplugs since their youth. He gave the manufacturers of helmets and protective gear good marks.
How does the tyre change the picture in Austria?
Michelin is bringing a stiffer casing for the rear tyre to the Red Bull Ring. The casing is the load-bearing structure of the tyre and helps determine how a bike behaves under acceleration and at lean.
In Aprilia’s favour is the fact that the RS-GP coped well with this construction at the start of the season, while Ducati had more trouble with it in the first two races. The comparison is flawed, however, because Marquez was physically still far from his current form back then. Bagnaia counts Spielberg among his strongest circuits and has won there by a large margin in the past. Whether that helps him in his current situation is something he only wants to judge once he is on site, because the stiffer casing could make his grip problem even worse. For Martin, the weekend becomes a test of whether the arm pump returns.
Frequently Asked Questions
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What did Bagnaia say to Di Giannantonio in Misano?
He explained that he is not allowed to change the base setup of his Ducati. Asked to try a simpler configuration, he replied with the sentence “Non me lo fanno fare”, meaning “They don’t let me do it”. The conversation was recorded by DAZN away from the official interview.
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How many races has Bagnaia failed to finish recently?
Misano was his third retirement in a row and the fourth in the past five races. He crashed out on lap six after getting more spin at the rear and losing the front.
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Why has Aprilia lost the championship lead?
Not because of a lack of speed. In the seven races since the Italian GP, Marc Marquez collected 203 points, Jorge Martin 118 and Marco Bezzecchi 68. Retirements, injuries and the absence of Ai Ogura cost the brand its Sunday results.
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When will helmet radio arrive in MotoGP?
It is initially planned for safety messages from race control, possibly from 2027. Two-way communication between rider and pit box is still in development.
➜ This article is part of our comprehensive overview: 2026 MotoGP Season: The Complete Overview – Teams, Riders, Calendar & Championship Standings. Find all key information on this topic in one place.
