Valentino Rossi makes intriguing claim about Pecco Bagnaia’s MotoGP struggles

MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi says Pecco Bagnaia has “struggled a bit alongside a fast team-mate like Marc Marquez” in 2025.

The double world champion has just two victories to his credit from the first 19 rounds and offered no serious threat to Ducati team-mate Marc Marquez in the championship battle.

Since the summer break, Pecco Bagnaia’s form has dropped further, though there was a rebound at the Japanese Grand Prix when he won both the sprint and the main race.

This is thought to have been due to Ducati reverting to some 2024 parts, particularly the rider height device, at the Misano test before the Motegi round.

However, that hasn’t provided a long-term fix, with Bagnaia pointless in the recent Australian and Indonesian Grand Prix.

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Speaking to Sky News in Italy earlier this week, nine-time grand prix world champion Valentino Rossi admits he still “doesn’t understand” why Bagnaia has struggled so much.

However, he has suggested that being team-mate to Marquez has played a factor.

“Pecco is a three-time world champion, including one in Moto2 with our team,” he began.

“He’s very fast, but unfortunately, this year he’s struggling a bit. Over the last three years, he’s always fought for the world championship.

“He won two, while last year he lost it in the final race. He’s proven his worth. This year, for a combination of reasons, he hasn’t been very comfortable with the new Ducati.

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“He’s started to struggle a bit alongside a fast team-mate like Marquez.

“We’re going through a difficult time, and we’re trying to help him 100%, trying to figure out how to resolve the situation.

“We still don’t understand what happened either, but we’re convinced that Pecco will get back to the front and fight for wins again.”

Claims Marquez form affecting Bagnaia contradict previous statements

Marquez’s arrival at the Ducati team as a key factor in destabilising Bagnaia in 2025 has been discussed a lot this year.

But both Bagnaia and Ducati have refuted this at various points.

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“At first, I was a little worried,” Bagnaia told Gazzetta dello Sport recently.

“He always said he put sticks in the wheels even of his team-mates.

“Instead, it has surprised me. Experiencing him as a team-mate has been very positive.”

Ducati sporting director Mauro Grassilli also told Crash at Misano: “Pecco was happy having Marc as a team-mate.

“So, Pecco is really part of our strategy as Marc is part of our strategy.

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“So, honestly speaking, I don’t know [if Bagnaia has been mentally affected]. But our target is to have both riders in the right positions and we will help Pecco come back.”

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Valentino Rossi makes intriguing claim about Pecco Bagnaia’s MotoGP struggles

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