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What Sylvain Guintoli noticed Pecco Bagnaia doing for Ducati after Brazilian GP crash

Originally posted on HITC | By Kyle Archer | Last updated Mar 21, 2026 1:42 PM ET

Sylvain Guintoli hasn’t counted Francesco Bagnaia out of the 2026 Brazilian Grand Prix just yet, noting that despite his lack of pace following a qualifying crash, he still provided Ducati with “valuable” data.

Bagnaia was one of several riders to crash during qualifying in Goiania on Saturday, as VR46 ace Fabio Di Giannantonio secured pole position for the Brazilian GP aboard the same Ducati GP26 as the two-time MotoGP champion. Bagnaia ultimately had to settle for just P11 in Q2.

It wasn’t until late in the session that he managed to post a lap time. He had rushed back to the garage after an early crash at Turn 9, where he lost the front while setting up for Turn 10.

Bagnaia will now line up on Sunday from the middle of row four as round two of the season gets underway. But Guintoli said his response after his qualifying incident could help him stay competitive come race day.

Why Bagnaia’s soft tyre runs could pay off for Ducati despite rough Brazil qualifying

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Bagnaia’s pace might not have been there in qualifying, but Sylvain Guintoli thinks the laps he put together on the soft tyres in Q2 could still prove useful for Ducati, giving them data to work with as they look to set up a stronger race.

READ MORE: All you need to know about the Brazilian Grand Prix, including Goiania stats

Guintoli said on TNT Sports 2 (21/03, 14:46): “An early mistake. I mean, he went down hard there and really fast as soon as he started trial braking into Turn 9, and all that braking zone through to Turn 10. That was a really fast crash.

The Italian rider will be disappointed with an 11th-place finish in qualifying, especially after seeing both VR46 star Di Giannantonio and teammate Marquez show strong pace with the same GP26 machinery. Bagnaia ended up 0.712s behind pole-sitter Di Giannantonio and 0.631s off Marquez in third.

Only Pramac rookie Toprak Razgatlioglu aboard the Yamaha M1 registered a slower lap time than Bagnaia for their fastest effort in Q2, with the three-time World Superbike champion’s best lap a 1:18.422 compared to the two-time MotoGP champion’s 1:18.122 personal best.

The only Ducati rider below Bagnaia on the timesheets was Franco Morbidelli on last year’s VR46 bike. Morbidelli didn’t make it out of Q1, finishing that session in fifth place and missing out on a chance to join his teammate in Q2.

This article first appeared on HITC and was syndicated with permission.

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