ROUND 5 / MAY 15-17, 2026
CIRCUIT DE BARCELONA-CATALUNYA / BARCELONA, SPAIN
ROAD RACE I FIM MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
P76
ROSSI'S MESSAGE
TO DUCATI
Valentino Rossi was present
in Barcelona to watch Fabio Di
Giannantonio deliver a Sprint
podium before delivering a stun-
ning reminder to Ducati manage-
ment over its treatment of Pecco
Bagnaia. Rossi said the three-time
World Champion, who is part of
his own VR46 Academy, is deserv-
ing of the same commitment from
his employers that he is currently
showing. "Pecco has a very good
attitude this year," said Rossi to
Sky Sports Italia. "I see it, we train
often and he's really giving his all
both in his normal life and in train-
ing when we go out on the bike.
And he really wants to try to win
again with the Ducati."
ROSSI INFLUENCE
Rossi's influence at the track was
praised by lead rider Di Giannan-
tonio. "He has an incredible eye,
insane. I get surprised because he
sees things that you can only see
in the data. And they see these
things and you are like, "Were you
on track with me?" And he is able
to see a lot of things from the
others, from you, so it's really inter-
esting, very helpful and a great
opportunity to learn and improve
when Vale is here."
PUIG'S NEW ROLE
CONFIRMED
Alberto Puig will take up a new
role as a Honda Racing Corpora-
tion Advisor from 2027. Honda
insists the move was voluntary as
HRC reorganizes its MotoGP orga-
nization. Trackhouse Aprilia's Da-
vide Brivio will arrive as a commer-
cial advisor, while another name
is expected to take over Puig's
current role as team manager. "I
just want to say Alberto is a great
person," said Luca Marini. "He's a
great character, even if from the
media you cannot feel this. He's
one man who speaks directly, and
there are not so many people in
this paddock like him."
Briefly...
Acosta (37) battled out front
of the third restart, but his rear
tire was shot with three laps to
go, and he dropped like a stone,
eventually being taken out by Ai
Ogura on the final corner.
