Francesco Bagnaia has accepted full responsibility for crashing out of second place at the French Grand Prix, admitting he was unwilling to let Marco Bezzecchi pull away at the front.
The two-time MotoGP champion started from pole position at Le Mans with a poor launch but quickly recovered to second, stuck between Bezzecchi and Pedro Acosta. As Bezzecchi began to stretch his lead and Acosta applied pressure from behind, Bagnaia lost the front end of his Ducati at Turn 3 and fell, marking his third DNF of the 2026 season.
The crash ended what had been a promising weekend for Bagnaia, who for the first time this year seemed comfortable on the bike after a rocky start to the season. While he revealed that the same technical issue that forced him to retire at Jerez reappeared at Le Mans, the Italian felt the incident ultimately resulted from his determination to fight for the win.
“When a rider crashes, 90% of the time it’s his own fault,” he said. “My crash was a consequence of the lack of confidence I was feeling. A small problem on the bike slowed us down, and I tried to maintain the same pace even though I couldn’t. Unfortunately, I crashed.
“I absolutely didn’t want to let him get away. I didn’t want to lose today. I wanted to stay in the fight. I was having an absolute blast, so I gave it everything for as long as I could.
“If I had been leading the championship, I definitely would have reacted differently. But today, seeing the chance to win, I went for it — as I should have.”
He added: “I gave it my all. I was right on Bezzecchi’s tail, and I was determined not to give up. When you’re riding with that kind of confidence, you push yourself to 200%. Unfortunately, the crash came from trying to enter the corner the same way even though I was no longer able to.”
Since narrowly losing the 2024 MotoGP title to Jorge Martin — who scored his first win in two years at Le Mans — Bagnaia has struggled to regain his form. Despite flashes of pace last year, including wins at Austin and Motegi, he lacked consistency and ended the season with five straight Sunday retirements. This year has been better, especially in sprint races, but he hasn’t regularly challenged teammate Marc Marquez or Ducati’s new frontrunner, Fabio di Giannantonio.
Bagnaia said he changed his approach heading into the French GP, prioritizing chasing outright victories over settling for podium finishes.
“Before seeking consistency, I’m trying to put the bike right at the front,” he said. “That’s exactly what happened in 2022. It’s true that I had already won two races before I really hit my stride. But the goal was to win. Winning is absolutely mandatory. Honestly, I said as much last week when I was at home.
“I’m going to the next race with that mindset. I came to that conclusion on Sunday. I don’t give a damn about anything — I’ll even crash if I have to.
“I crashed twice this weekend, but it was also the weekend where we came closest to matching Aprilia’s speed all season. So, we just need to stay positive and keep pushing in this direction.”
Jorge Martin, Aprilia Racing Team
