Francesco Bagnaia pushes Ducati to fix rear grip before Phillip Island
NXTbets Pro | Published On: October 13, 2026
Bagnaia’s rear grip problem
Francesco Bagnaia left Mandalika with a clear message for Ducati, the bike needs work at the rear before the season’s next stop at Phillip Island. The Ducati rider blamed a lack of rear grip for his problems at the Indonesian Grand Prix and said the weakness stood out more at Mandalika because it exposed a backward step Ducati has made over the last two years. Bagnaia said he had “no grip” and “no feeling” on the bike after the race, and he made it clear the machine was not giving him the support he needed when he asked too much of it. He said he had been demanding too much from his GP26, and he added that Ducati no longer had much connection with the gas on a track that asks for both speed and grip. That combination left him searching for answers throughout the weekend, with the rear end of the bike at the center of the issue. His comments pointed to a problem he sees as long-running, not a one-off glitch. He said Ducati must help him solve it before the Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island on Oct. 23-25, and he warned that the same rear-grip issue could be very problematic there.
Phillip Island warning for Bagnaia
Phillip Island now looms as the next major test for Bagnaia and Ducati, and the Italian rider expects the rear-grip issue to matter again if it does not get fixed. The Australian Grand Prix gives Ducati a limited window to respond before the next round begins. Bagnaia linked the problem to how the GP26 behaves when he pushes and tied that behavior directly to the demands of Phillip Island. For Ducati, the message is simple. Fix the rear grip, or face the same kind of trouble on a circuit where Bagnaia already expects the problem to bite. The rider has set the timeline himself, and the next Grand Prix gives him no room to wait.
Bagnaia’s standings, history
Bagnaia’s Indonesian Grand Prix weekend produced mixed results before the crash that ended his race on lap six. He finished eighth in the sprint, scored two points and reached Q2 for the first time since the Dutch Grand Prix. He then qualified 10th for the Grand Prix before his race ended early. Those details fit into a season that has left him ninth in the MotoGP standings with 166 points, six points behind Alex Marquez. Bagnaia’s record at Phillip Island adds another layer to the story. He has never won the Australian Grand Prix in any class, and his best finish there came in 2023, when he took second. That history gives the upcoming round extra importance because it is both a track where he has run well and a venue where he still lacks the top step. With the championship battle ongoing and Ducati facing a rear-grip fix, Bagnaia enters Phillip Island carrying form, history and expectation at the same time.
