Pecco Bagnaia’s Indonesian Grand Prix ended on lap six after a crash he said did not come as a major surprise. The Ducati rider was trying to close in on Luca Marini to build front-tyre pressure, but the bike was giving him neither the grip nor the feel he needed. The attempt ended with Bagnaia out of the race.

There had been one encouraging sign earlier in the weekend: Bagnaia reached Q2 directly for the first time since the Dutch Grand Prix in June. He then finished only eighth in the Sprint. In the main race, his effort to reduce the gap to Marini ended in the lap-six crash.

Rear grip remains the central problem

Bagnaia’s explanation focused on the rear of the Ducati. In his view, the step backwards he has felt from the bike over the past two years was especially clear at Mandalika, a circuit that demands speed, grip and strong support from the rear. He also said the motorcycle no longer gives the same connection to the throttle, making it harder to use what grip is available.

Ducati did show some competitive flashes in Indonesia. Marc Marquez was its leading finisher in the Grand Prix, taking sixth, while Fabio Di Giannantonio qualified third and Marquez won the Sprint. Bagnaia felt the other Ducati riders appeared to have slightly more grip, although he stressed that their performance was not ideal either. The result leaves his crash as a particularly clear example of how difficult the bike was to exploit at Mandalika.