Francesco Bagnaia set the eighth fastest time as MotoGP pre-season testing began on Tuesday. He finished seven-tenths off the benchmark set by Ducati team-mate Marc Marquez.
On the face of it, that’s a worrying result. BagnayaIt is reminiscent of the 2025 results. However, a clear picture emerges after the attacks of the flat period on the last day.
Moreover, Bagnaya spoke positively in the interview. Sky Italia After the session. He built on an encouraging post-season test in Valencia last November.
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The 2022 and 2023 world champion is coming off the worst year of his MotoGP career. The lack of basic comfort on the Ducati GP25 kept him largely unknown for the campaign.
Francesco Bagnaia has found what he spent a year ‘looking for’ at Ducati
Marquez said Bagnaia would benefit from a break.And certainly, the 29-year-old was more excited on Tuesday than he was at the end of last year.
Bagnaia made some radical attempts to restore the ‘feel’ of last year’s corner entry, but it naturally came in the early version of the GP26.
The Italian started on pole position for last year’s Malaysian GP and was just shy of seven thousandths on the third day of the 2025 Sepang test. So, he’s taking his initial findings ‘with a pinch of salt’.
“It’s fantastic to start again, it’s unbelievable what MotoGP gives you,” he said. “Today I am very happy.
We had a chance to do several laps this morning on the medium and this afternoon on the soft. We did quite well, I must say; Everything we tried gave clear feedback.
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“Fortunately, my feeling is very positive, especially on the front of the bike in terms of braking and corner entry, which is what we were looking for last year. So it’s good now.”
“Then we focused on new parts like the fairing: it has its pros and cons, but I did the same amount of time with both old and new, so it’s positive to start with and for a few kilometers.
“We tested the new bike, it improved in a few areas where you could make adjustments. I felt comfortable right away.
“Fortunately, last year’s limitation doesn’t seem to be here. It’s also true that it’s a track where I’ve always been fast, so for now you have to take everything with a grain of salt, but I was very calm on this first day; I felt good straight away.”
Peco Bagnaia’s Sepang test comments reveal that Ducati has recently signed Pedro Acosta
Bagnaya arrived in Malaysia after a wave of reports that he had lost his. Ducati Seat for 2027. Like every rider in MotoGP, he is entering a contract year.
It is widely believed Pedro Acosta has agreed to join Ducati.. Luigi Daligna gave Bagnaia no time to turn things around in the early rounds.
If Bagnaia is again a podium machine at the start of the season and shows race pace, Ducati may regret acting in a hurry.
Acosta may have a higher ceiling, but he’s never shown he’s a stronger rider than Bagnaia.
Arguably, it makes sense to wait and gather more evidence, especially since many riders will abandon their plans if a Ducati seat is offered.
