Francesco Bagnaia’s return to the Sepang test did not surprise Mauro Sancini as the Ducati rider loves the track in Malaysia, but Buriram will be a tougher challenge.
MotoGP paddock Gresini pilot Alex Marquez set the track with the fastest lap and best sprint race sim, but Bagnaia offered encouraging signs after a difficult year in 2025.
Bagnaya Set the second-best average Sprint Race lap time at the Sepang test, and the Ducati ace’s consistency in his works shocked his rivals. Aprilia CEO Massimo Rivola said that they could “go home” given the pace at Bagnaia in Sepang0.387s from the top non-Ducati with the top three.
Besides impressing Revola with its Sprint Race simulation, Bagnaya was “relieved” at Sepang to improve his one-lap pace. In the year Because he feels he can push harder on the front end of the bike than he can in 2025. Sanchini, however, took Baghian’s gains at Sepang with a grain of salt.
Francesco Bagnaia must hold ‘his’ against Thailand’s Marc Marquez to ensure his comeback.
Former World Superbike rider and current Sky Sports Italy technical analyst Sancini highlights that Bagnaya won the 2025 Sepang Sprint In the 2026 test to lower the growth slightly from the pole position. Instead, Buriram really shows if the real Bagnaya “returns”.
Read more: Everything you need to know about Francesco Bagnaia from net worth to seed number
MotoGP will hold a two-day test in Buriram this weekend before the season opener Grand Prix of Thailand next week. And Sanchini wants to see Bagnaya at least get closer to the competition Mark Marquez Via a garage in Thailand to make sure Ducati fixed the issues.
Sancini said. Fan page: “Bagnaia’s strong performance at Sepang won’t surprise me in 2025. If Peko can prove his pace in Thailand, yes, I can believe that they have solved the problems last year, maybe at corner entry.
“You can give weight to what you saw there. On the other hand, Mark is a strong man both in Sepang and in Thailand. I don’t expect a big upset against him. But overall, Buriram gives us clear signals.”
Sancini added: “I think the worst is already over for Peko. In Japan, when he is in shape, he has shown himself to be able to challenge Mark and others. Now I see him as more positive and I expect a strong season.”
“It’s not (Buriram’s) favorite track. It’s not supposed to be dominant, but I want to see him up close, clearly, teasing it out there. That tells me he’s really back.”
Marc Marquez will win the 2025 MotoGP title, followed by Pecco Bagnaia by 267 points.
Bagnaia has endured a rough time as a factory Ducati rider during the 2025 campaign. Marquez won the 2025 MotoGP title with a record five laps After joining Ducati last time.
Although Marquez won the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix from Pole, Motegi has a 267-point lead over Bagnaia in the standings. The Japanese GP was ultimately the only race that Bagnaia finished in the final seven rounds of the 2025 MotoGP season.
Now Sancini wants to see Bagnaia do battle with Marquez in Thailand as he did to win in Japan last year. Marquez won the 2025 season opener at Buriram for the first time in his career at Ducati by 1.732s over Gresini star sibling Alex Marquez, while Bagnaia was 2.398s off the lead.
