Rossi points to Marquez as the cause of Bagnaia's crisis

According to the MotoGP legend, it’s not easy for his protégé to see how Marquez was immediately so fast within the Italian team, while Bagnaia himself is coming off one of the toughest seasons of his career. Rossi even tried last year to pinpoint exactly where the problem lay and contacted Bagnaia’s crew chief for that reason.

"Pecco has unfortunately lost his way a bit," says Rossi during the Hall of Fame dinner, broadcast by MotoGP.com. "Under braking and on corner entry, where he was so strong last season, he’s now having problems." According to Rossi, the presence of Marc Marquez within Ducati plays a role in this. "If Marquez gets on his bike and is instantly that fast, it’s not easy psychologically," he states.

Rossi also points to a specific technical issue that he says makes a big difference in Bagnaia’s races. "He’s a very precise rider. Do you know what his biggest problem is? His rear tire squats too much," Rossi explains.

According to the Italian, this mainly affects the final phase of races, which used to be one of Bagnaia’s strongest points. "In the last laps, Pecco is slower, whereas the season before he was very strong at the end," says Rossi. "Back then, Pecco was the rider who still had the best tires in the final laps. In the last laps he was faster than the others."