How technical issues have cost Bagnaia 40 points in the MotoGP title fight

Francesco Bagnaia believes technical gremlins have cost him more than 40 points in MotoGP this season, taking some of the momentum out of what has otherwise been an impressive comeback from his 2025 nadir.

The factory Ducati rider suffered another painful retirement at the last round in Assen, pulling into the pits from fourth place with a suspected braking issue.

Curiously, Bagnaia declined to reveal the exact cause of his retirement when he spoke to the media ahead of this weekend's German Grand Prix at Sachsenring.

“I cannot say anything. The bike just... I needed to go back to the box, to the garage,” was all he would say about his sudden exit from the Dutch GP.

However, he acknowledged that a series of reliability and technical issues has had a significant impact on his title challenge: “Considering what happened in the front, yes. If I just consider the points lost between Jerez, Le Mans and Assen, there are more than 40 points.”

Bagnaia sits eighth in the championship heading into this weekend’s German GP, having rediscovered much of his pace with what he has previously described as a new development direction for the Ducati.

Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / Getty Images

Between Catalan and Czech Grands Prix, he scored four Sunday podiums in a row, while also claiming a crucial sprint win at Brno.

While the loss of points has been significant, he is confident that he will have an opportunity to recover lost ground: “If I consider 40 points [lost], I'm 63 [points behind], [which is] not bad. It could have been better, but it's what it is.

“I already understand in many situations in my career that points are points and you can regain what you lost. It's what it is.”

Where Bagnaia's 40-point estimate comes from

While not quite at the same level as some of his Ducati stablemates, including his team-mate Marc Marquez, Bagnaia has performed consistently well in recent rounds, a stark contrast to the mixed form that blighted his 2025 campaign.

However, a string of non-scores has left him 63 points behind championship leader Jorge Martin and 47 points adrift of Ducati’s top performer Fabio di Giannantonio.

At the Spanish GP, he was running in ninth place when he retired just after the halfway point due to what was described as a brake problem.

Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / Getty Images

However, he suffered an even bigger disappointment two weeks later when he crashed out of second place at the French GP. While Bagnaia admitted that he was overambitious, he also pointed to an unspecified technical issue that dented his confidence and contributed to his fall.

His most puzzling retirement came at Assen, where Bagnaia slowed down suddenly while running in fourth place. Whether it was related to the brake issue that affected him at Jerez and Le Mans remains unclear, with Bagnaia refusing to elaborate on the cause.

It is impossible to know where Bagnaia would ultimately have finished in each of those races. But if his running position at the time of retirement is taken as the final result, the points lost add up to exactly 40, supporting the estimate he cited ahead of this weekend's German GP race.

Apart from three rounds, Bagnaia also crashed out of the Brazilian GP in April while running inside the top 10, although that retirement was unrelated to the technical issues he referenced.