“I have no feeling with the bike” after French MotoGP

Francesco Bagnaia dubbed the French Grand Prix as “a race and a weekend to truly forget” after he crashed on the opening lap before coming home in 16th.

Starting from sixth on the grid, the two-time MotoGP champion collided with Enea Bastianini at the first chicane of lap one, in turn taking out Joan Mir.

Bagnaia was able to get going again and came in for a change of bike, but it was a point-less weekend for the factory Ducati rider, who also retired from Saturday’s sprint race the day earlier.

“A race and a weekend to truly forget,” said Bagnaia. “It’s the first time I’ve scored two zeros on Saturday and Sunday, in both races. We weren’t able to take anything home.

“I was going strong, but I still don’t have any feeling at the front, and in the wet, the situation gets worse. In the wet, the bike normally gives you feedback, and this bike doesn’t give me any. It was a shame because my strategy was perfect; the only one who followed it was [Johann] Zarco.”

Like Bagnaia, Zarco opted to stay out on the wet tyres. This strategy ultimately proved to be the optimal one, as the LCR Honda rider went on to take the victory at his home race.

“Even with the crash, if I had come back, I could have finished in the top five,” Bagnaia added. “But I had to stop because the shift paddle was partially blocked, sometimes the gears would engage and sometimes they wouldn’t.

“I then returned to the track with the other bike, but nothing worked today, and when things go wrong, it’s hard for them to right themselves.”

After a 2024 campaign which saw him finish runner-up to Jorge Martin, 2025 has proven more challenging as Bagnaia is 51 points behind championship leader and new team-mate Marc Marquez after six rounds. 

“It’s not a comfortable situation for me,” the Italian said. “Not at all serene, and, above all, difficult for me to accept, because I’ve always been used to other things, and now I’m in a situation where I have no feeling with the bike.

“When I ride a bike, I give 100% in all situations. The problem is that with this bike, whether I do a fast lap, or I fall, or I do a lap five seconds slower, I always have the same sensations, and that’s the problem.

“We’ve been like this since the beginning of this year. I don’t feel the limit, I don’t know where it is. Until last year, I felt the rubber, the movements.

“This year, I don’t feel anything until I fall. The whole team is working on a solution. And it’s even difficult for them. We’re all in the same boat right now.”

Despite an unwelcome result at Le Mans, Bagnaia did not shift the blame onto bad luck.

“I don’t recognise fortune and misfortune; they don’t exist,” he said. “Fortune belongs to those who win and those who fail. I’ve never considered myself unlucky. It’s not an easy time, that’s all.”