Francesco Bagnaia apologised for being ‘a liar’ over Ducati’s 2025 MotoGP engine

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Ducati will use their GP24 engine for the upcoming MotoGP season, it was confirmed on Thursday. The dilemma had been one of the biggest stories of winter testing.

Last year, Ducati won 19 out of 20 Grands Prix, with only Aprilia’s Maverick Vinales denying them a clean sweep. The challenge this time around was improving on near-perfection.

But the GP25 engine was not, in its first form at least, an upgrade on its predecessor. Francesco Bagnaia reported difficulties in the braking zone with the new package.

The decision took on an extra significance because MotoGP teams will be subject to an engine freeze ahead of the 2027 regulation changes. That means the motor they choose this year will also power their ’26 bike.

Ducati preached the importance of conservatism given their already dominant position in the series. The feeling is that even last year’s model will be best in class.

Luigi Dall’Igna’s team have also been experimenting with last year’s aerodynamics and chassis. There’s a possibility that they return to Thailand for the season opener with a bike very similar to their Solidarity Grand Prix entrant in November.

Francesco Bagnaia instantly made up his mind on Ducati’s engine for 2025 MotoGP season

The Race’s Simon Patterson spoke to Bagnaia after the final day of winter testing Buriram and learned that Ducati had already made their decision in Malaysia. They gave the impression that it was still touch-and-go.

Bagnaia even apologised for misleading the press, though it’s natural for teams to be secretive at this stage of the season. The two-time world champion apparently knew from the outset that the 2025 engine was overly flawed.

He won 11 Grands Prix and seven Sprints on last year’s bike, so he may welcome the continuity. Teammate Marc Marquez, likely to be his only title rival, is adapting from the GP23 he rode at Gresini.

“We should say that, after a week of us deliberating, we discovered that Ducati actually made their decision on the last day of the Sepang Test,” Patterson said on The Race MotoGP Podcast. “Pecco actually admitted it in his debrief today.

“He was like ‘sorry, I’ve been a bit of a liar, because I knew the minute I rode the 2025 bike for the first time on the first day of Sepang what we were going to do’. He’s been towing the PR line quite well. But he conceded that he knew right away.”

Francesco Bagnaia just gave a very short MotoGP title prediction for 2025

MotoGP reporter Jack Appelyard says ‘the feeling’ is that Ducati are ‘standing still’ by sticking with large parts of the GP24 package. But their advantage was so great that their status as strong favourites remains intact.

When asked to predict their champion for this year, every rider went with either Bagnaia or Marquez. Other Ducati teams and rival manufacturers could pick up occasional victories, but they accept that they won’t score at the same rate.

2021 victor Fabio Quartararo picked Marquez for the championship. The Spaniard was arguably the star of the Buriram Test, blitzing the field with his race run on day two.

But Bagnaia simply replied ‘me, obviously’ when he faced the same question. Marquez was much more diplomatic, pointing to multiple challengers inside and outside the Ducati stable.