Francesco Bagnaia posted the eighth-quickest lap as MotoGP’s pre-season testing kicked off on Tuesday, finishing seven-tenths shy of Ducati teammate Marc Marquez’s best effort.
At first glance, it’s an underwhelming result that echoes his 2025 struggles. However, the final day’s time attacks will provide a clearer assessment of where everyone stands.
Bagnaia also sounded upbeat when speaking to Sky Italia after the session. He said he had carried forward some positive signs from last November’s post-season test in Valencia.
The 2022 and 2023 world champion is coming off a season where nothing seemed to click. His ongoing discomfort with the GP25 left him far from his best for much of the year.
Francesco Bagnaia finds what he spent a year searching for at Ducati
Marc Marquez suggested that Bagnaia would benefit from some time away, and on Tuesday, the 29-year-old sounded far more upbeat than he had been at the end of last year.
Last season, Bagnaia tried a series of radical experiments to regain his corner entry feeling. But with the early version of the GP26, it came back to him naturally.
The Italian did start on pole position for last year’s Malaysian GP and finished just seven-thousandths off the fastest time on day three of the 2025 Sepang test. As a result, he’s approaching his initial findings with caution.
“Starting again is fantastic, what MotoGP gives you is incredible,” he said. “I really enjoyed it today.”
“We had the chance to do several laps, both this morning on the medium and this afternoon on the soft. We worked really well, I must say; everything we tried gave clear feedback.”
“Fortunately my feeling is very positive,” he said, “especially in terms of braking and corner entry. It’s what we were looking for last year.”
He added: “Then we focused on new parts like the fairing: it has pros and cons, but I did exactly the same time with both old and new so for a start and few kilometres it’s positive.”
Pecco Bagnaia comments after sepang test highlight the Pedro Acosta gamble
Bagnaia’s start to the season came against a backdrop of speculation about his future with Ducati, as reports have suggested his seat for 2027 has already been decided. Like many on the grid, he’s also in a contract year.
Reports indicate that Pedro Acosta has already agreed terms with Ducati. Luigi Dall’Igna appears unwilling to give Bagnaia time early in the season to turn things around.
If Bagnaia gets off to a strong start and consistently finishes on the podium, Ducati may end up questioning whether they acted too quickly in making their decision.
While Acosta’s potential is clear, it’s still an open question whether he’s currently better than Bagnaia. There hasn’t been enough shown yet to make that case definitively.
Ducati could have waited to see more before making such a big call, especially since plenty of riders would put their plans on pause for a chance at one of those seats.
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