Ducati Motor Company CEO and board member Claudio Domenicali is in Texas this weekend and will be at the Circuit of the Americas for the MotoGP race.

While it is largely unknown why Domenicali is in Texas—he is renowned for doing dealer visits at Ducati shops near racetracks on race weekends one can assume he is coming here to see, exactly, why Francesco Bagnaia has struggled in 2025 whereas new Ducati signing Marc Marquez, on the same bike, has absolutely dominated the MotoGP series in the same period.

Domenicali began his full-time career at Ducati shortly after graduating from the University of Bologna with a degree in mechanical engineering. His first contribution was a collaboration with several other engineers on the famed Ducati Supermono, the single cylinder Ducati racebike which is now a highly sought-after race bike by Ducati collectors. He and Massimo Bordi adopted much of the technology from the Ducati 888 Superbike into their cult bike, the Supermono.

Why is he here? Domenicali is as "type A" as they get and it's doubtful that he's in Texas for one singular reason. But it is safe to assume that he is here to see with his own eyes the situation that exists in the factory MotoGP team.

Domenicali is the closest thing that the motorcycle industry has as a Steve Jobs figure. Claudio is a visionary, a tough taskmaster and someone whose brain is typically three steps ahead of anyone else in the motorcycle industry.

In 1999 Domenicali's first role as an executive was as the CEO of Ducati Corse (racing). He has much bigger fish to fry, as is said, these days but you can bet he stays very informed on every racing development as it pertains to Ducati in MotoGP and WSBK.

The last time Domenicali was at Austin, coincidentally, he was here when Ducati rider Jorge Lorenzo was struggling on the factory Ducati. Whereas most motorcycle manufacturers would rely on underlings to tell him why Lorenzo might be struggling, Domenicali attended Lorenzo's media debrief after qualifying and stood two feet in front of the Spanish rider intensely focused on what Lorenzo's complaints were about the Ducati.

Domenicali is not keen on Ducati paying riders huge salary numbers and getting back lackluster results.

At all.

It is a matter of personal and company-wide pride that everyone Ducati employs returns top results, from the guy sweeping the floor to their top level MotoGP riders. Many riders have sat through an uncomfortable session of "why are we paying you this much if you can't deliver?". Valentino Rossi, the late Nicky Hayden, the aforementioned Lorenzo and many others have had to sweat it out with "The Dom".

It's only been two rounds of the MotoGP championship, but in 2025 Francesco Bagnaia looks listless and unmotivated.

One could look at Francesco Bagnaia in 2024 and suggest that he's looking a lot like a guy who was one-half of a power couple who once set the pace and tone of the scene. Until his girlfriend (Ducati) decided she'd rather just be friends and has now begun dating a new beau (MM93). It's like Bagnaia has decided to be a good friend and drive his old girlfriend and her new beau on dates and wait outside the new guy's apartment to make sure she gets home okay. Bagnaia is a former MotoGP world champion on Ducati and until 2025 their star #1 A rider. To see him humbled and unenthusiastic after all that he has accomplished is frankly disheartening, as it seems to undermine the passion and drive that once defined him.

Again it's only been two rounds, but that Domenicali is here isn't a great sign for Bagnaia.

Bagnaia is Italian on an Italian team so he will get plenty of time to figure out how he will get his old girl back. But, if this continues too long, a suggestion may come from above that Bagnaia needs to ride at the Gresini team for a few races in order to find himself, while Alex Marquez gets his gal, his seat in the pitbox and his bike.