[22nd April 2025] MOW mag article: "WAKE UP GUYS! Pecco Bagnaia's drama is the Italian press"
(Translation: Italian→English)
He never said that it is his fault that Marc Marquez rides for Ducati nor that the 2025 championship is already lost.
Small (but resounding) journalistic derailment the Tuesday morning leading up to the Spanish GP, when a fair amount of Italian media invented an interview with Francesco Bagnaia: no, Pecco didn't say that it is his fault that Marc Marquez is in Ducati, nor even that this year's championship [bid] is gone. And yet his problem is stories just like this.
It is the Tuesday of [the race week of] the Spanish GP in Jerez. On Italian websites, an interview with Francesco 'Pecco' Bagnaia is starting to circulate; the first to publish it - throwing themselves on latinisms with an always-fresh 'mea culpa' [latin for "(through) my fault"] - are the gentlemen of Eurosport. They are reposting an interview conducted by TNT Sports, the television network that holds the rights for MotoGP in the United Kingdom. It has the tone of an Instagram page.
The headline: "Pecco Bagnaia's mea culpa: Ducati hired Marc Marquez for the factory team because of my mistakes last season". Needless to say that such a sentence would raise an eyebrow even on a marble bust: but how doesn't Pecco Bagnaia know, as we do, that Marc Marquez made his employment with Ducati official in June, much earlier than the mistakes which he's referring to, such as those committed in Misano, Aragon, and Sepang?
Strange. The best, however, is inside the article, when Bagnaia says that "beyond 2025 it will be important to return to fighting for the title. If I were to manage to succeed this year too, that would be great, but I see it being very difficult". [*] The story gets even more interesting: according to these words, Bagnaia would admit to having given up fighting for the championship after contesting [only] four GPs, out of the 22 on the programme. But come on, where is this compliancy [not sure how to translate 'arrendevolezza'. it's not really compliancy, more the quality of having a disposition to surrender, like "surrenderableness"] coming from? And if it were true, why not dedicate the headline to such news, [which is] sensational to say the least?
The story then lends itself to a more elaborate argument, one that perhaps enthusiasts not party to paddock dynamics may not be able to grasp: if this interview came from TNT Sports, it was probably produced during the Qatar GP, most likely on the Thursday media day. How come such strong words were not repeated by the media present at the circuit, or by other television networks? It is almost impossible that Bagnaia, notoriously reluctant to give his time to journalists, would have allowed TNT Sports a long interview between Easter Sunday and Easter Monday - notwithstanding the fact that he was at the WEC [race] in Imola then - and indeed that he would have done so with the British media without anyone blinking an eye.
And yet the interview starts to circulate and is repeated by other sites, some of them absolutely well informed about MotoGP. It would be nice to consider that there was a bit of malice on the part of the editors who in turn repeated the news from Eurosport, however it seems more like a small and resounding journalistic derailment. This is exactly the type of information that is complicating Pecco Bagnaia's contest against Marc Marquez: if everyone believes that you are without hope, you will lose some yourself. Danilo Petrucci told it well in an exclusive last month that continues to prove topical. [I believe they are referring to this interview]
This is what Pecco Bagnaia actually said in this interview
All the doubts referred to above, however, would not be enough to be certain that Bagnaia's words have been severely misrepresented, not to mention translated by an illiterate person. We searched for the interview, worked with a VPN and bothered foreign colleagues for several hours before finding ourselves with the original in front of us. The original which, needless to say, is radically different to what was published by Italian media.
On the progress of the championship Bagnaia says this: "I think that we can fight right up until Valencia and when I feel good [/right] again it will be fun, for sure. I always work the same way, seeking to be competitive. After last year it is important to try to respond, to win the championship again. I know that this season will be difficult and tough with the contest that I will have to fight with Marc. But if I were to win it would be great, I have to continue to work this way." So no, he does not say that after 2025 it will be important to return to fighting for the title. He is talking, if anything, about 2024.
On the fact that Ducati hired the Spaniard because of him, instead the original answer is the following: "I believe that Ducati wanted to create this situation (editor: of having Bagnaia and Marquez in the garage). Last year we lost the championship because I made mistakes and Ducati wants to win the championship with bike, team and riders, and I do believe that with this team they will achieve this result. Marc will always be there and I will try to always be there, so I believe that in the end the contest for the championship will be between the factory riders, something great for many reasons. We are lucky that our relationship is still going so well, we just have to continue like this. The fact is that when you are the strongest and win 18 races in a season, including sprints, and then lose the championship, it is strange even to explain, and I was the one who lost it. I was always there, and yet many times I made mistakes, fell, had problems while fighting for the top positions. It will take a long time for me to accept it, because I know that it is my fault alone." A completely different story.
In two days Pecco will be in front of the journalists again, for the Spanish GP. Who knows if he will feel obliged to refute this round of declarations.
Notes
[*] < This quote is the one i put in the tags of my reblog of the GPone article, but the (italian) words used here are different to in that article. That indicates that not only did GPone use this terribly misinterpreted quote, they probably also put it through different/multiple translations and confused it even more. Idek.
The bold parts are as they were in the original article, as they wanted to emphasise things. The italics in square brackets are my own additions/notes. I tried to reduce those as much as possible and choose the translation which fitted best. If anyone finds any mistakes, or has any comments or questions about the wording, please let me know!!
