It’s been a rollercoaster 24 hours for Pramac Ducati rider Pecco Bagnaia, as he confirmed yesterday that he would remain with the Italian firm for 2021 and 2022 only for his stellar 2020 season come to a crashing halt today at Brno.
Crashing during free practice for the Czech Grand Prix, the Italian suffered a broken tibia in the awkward fall. He will undergo surgery as quickly as possible on the broken leg, definitely missing this weekend’s race and likely sitting out the upcoming two rounds at Austria’s Red Bull Ring as well.
Purtroppo la caduta delle fp1 mi ha provocato la frattura della tibia. Domani mattina tornerò in Italia per essere operato il prima possibile.
Per fortuna la frattura non ha coinvolto i legamenti del ginocchio quindi i tempi di recupero saranno più veloci. pic.twitter.com/tS0mfbkb4i— Pecco Bagnaia (@PeccoBagnaia) August 7, 2020
It comes as he remains in with a fighting chance of taking over Andrea Dovizioso’s factory seat for next season. Confirming only that he will remain with Ducati for the foreseeable future but admitting that he doesn’t yet know where that future will take him, he’s lost the chance to shine when he most needed it.
Even worse, it comes after crushing disappointment last time out at Jerez, where a mechanical problem during the Andalucian Grand Prix cost the former Moto2 world champion his first-ever premier class podium.
However, while the injury might preclude him a golden opportunity to make good on his podium potential, especially with two races coming up at the Ducati-dominant Red Bull Ring, it might not be a complete disaster for the 23-year-old.
Should talks with Dovizioso fail to formalise into a contract for 2021 – a scenario looking increasingly likely – then Bagnaia’s status as replacement looks set in stone.
He has been performing way above his 2019 level despite only having had two races to attempt to convert that potential into race results, and a few weeks on the sidelines should hopefully not matter too much to his future.
The ball still very much remains in Dovizioso’s court, with the Italian well aware that he’s got two races coming up where he has to shine. Arguing with Ducati bosses for more money despite their attempts at cost-saving exercises, the only way he is going to win the debate is to show that in the absence of the injured Marc Marquez he can be a title winner.
Dovizioso is already some 24 points adrift of runaway championship leader and double race winner Fabio Quartararo, and it’ll take a return to winning ways at Brno and Spielberg to turn around his season.
The 2018 winner at the Czech race and never off the podium at the Red Bull Ring since its return to the calendar in 2014, Dovizioso will require at least a similar-level performance from the next two races to secure his longer-term future.
It didn’t get off to a great start today, however, as he finished the day 15th on combined times and fourth-fastest Ducati, behind satellite rider Johann Zarco, 2021 factory rider Jack Miller and teammate Danilo Petrucci.
While Dovizioso was adamant that it wasn’t as bad as it looked on paper as he works to cure Ducati’s issues with Michelin’s new rear tyre, it nonetheless wasn’t an opening day to write home about.
“It was a bit of a strange day because we had to deal with particular track conditions,” Dovizioso said afterwards, “where the performance of the tyres tends to drop a lot. I think we will all have to work differently than usual, to try to be as consistent as possible in the race.
“In general, my feeling with the bike is good, it is improving each session, and I have a good feeling on braking. Today I didn’t put the soft tyre, but at the moment the setu-p for the race is our top priority”.
