What Franco Morbidelli ‘secretly’ did during MotoGP testing after instruction from Ducati hierarchy

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Franco Morbidelli and the rest of Ducati’s GP24 riders will enter the MotoGP season feeling optimistic. Victories and podiums appear to be on the cards in 2025.

Ducati will stick with their 2024 engine amid dissatisfaction with its successor. They may also start the year with much of last season’s bodywork.

When MotoGP returns to Europe, they will likely start to introduce new parts. But until then, Marc Marquez and Francesco Bagnaia won’t have a significant advantage in their equipment.

Morbidelli, who’s effectively retaining the same bike this year after switching from Pramac to VR46, was particularly impressive in the Sepang Test. He also finished day two in Buriram inside the top 10, six-tenths off the pace of Marquez.

Marquez’s brother Alex was one of the standouts of pre-season at Gresini. He placed second in the final session and offered a benchmark for the Ducati factory riders.

Gresini have replaced Marquez Sr with rookie Fermin Aldeguer. Lead VR46 rider Fabio di Giannantonio missed much of the winter programme after injuring himself performing a wheelie on day one in Sepang.

Franco Morbidelli secretly used Ducati’s 2025 engine during MotoGP testing

Pramac’s switch to Yamaha means Ducati’s data-gathering potential will suffer this season. But with two satellite teams, they are still the best-equipped on the grid.

According to ‘The Race’s sources in the paddock’, the Ducati hierarchy instructed Morbidelli, Marquez Jr and Aldeguer to try out the GP25 engine. These runs were ‘secretly’ carried out on the final day in Sepang.

At the same time, the factory squad were running the old and new motors back-to-back. Bagnaia complained that the latest model wasn’t as effective in the braking zone.

Taking on board the feedback of five different riders, Luigi Dall’Igna and co. opted for the conservative approach. With an engine freeze coming in 2026, they’ve made a commitment for the next two years.

Francesco Bagnaia admitted he didn’t tell the truth about Ducati engine debate

Jack Miller says Ducati look ‘scary’ this year, suggesting that they haven’t yet shown what they’re capable of. Considering that Marquez was the fastest over a single lap and a race run in Thailand, that’s certainly an ominous sign.

Even with elements of a year-old package, they’re likely to remain the class of the field. KTM are experiencing ‘horrific’ tyre issues, while Aprilia are hard to read after Jorge Martin’s injury.

Davide Tardozzi is wary of Fabio Quartararo and Yamaha, but they didn’t sound as positive in Buriram as they did in Sepang. Ducati have been tight-lipped this winter but they still radiate confidence.

Bagnaia apologised for lying to the media over their engine dilemma. He revealed that they made a decision after three days of testing, but made it out as if the debate was ongoing.