Marco Bezzecchi
Francesco Bagnaia has enlisted the help of Casey Stoner in his latest bid to turn around his woes in the current campaign, revealing that the two-time MotoGP champion clearly spotted something that Ducati engineers didn’t see during his time in the garage.
Stoner was present in the Ducati garage at the San Marino GP, with the race weekend coinciding with the introduction of MotoGP’s new Hall of Fame.
The Australian is a welcome figure in the garages of the Italian constructor, given his status as the first man to bring a MotoGP title back to Borgo Panigale.
Bagnaia was able to benefit from Stoner’s wisdom, but the effects were short-lived as the Italian rider found that the 39-year-old’s advice failed to work for him in the Grand Prix.
The Ducati man ended up crashing out of the race for just the second time this season, thus ending another weekend to forget for Bagnaia in the current term.
READ MORE: Casey Stoner once won the MotoGP championship despite riding a bike that was getting ‘eaten alive’
Casey Stoner ‘clearly’ saw what Francesco Bagnaia’s bike was doing whilst spending time in the Ducati garage
Ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix, where Bagnaia’s counterpart Marc Marquez can seal the 2025 riders’ championship, Bagnaia was fielded a number of questions regarding Stoner’s help.
The pair were spotted together on Valentino Rossi’s famous ranch between the race weekends, where Bagnaia was able to further learn from the MotoGP legend.
During his Thursday afternoon media duties, Bagnaia described the presence of Stoner, via The Race, at Misano as “something great”, due to the fact that it was providing Ducati engineers with a different perspective on the issues that have been hindering his ability to record desirable results.
“Having Casey, someone that is out of Ducati, was helpful because he was saying different kinds of things that were helping a lot,” Bagnaia added. “We also spent time together in the days after, with go-karts, then at the ranch, speaking a lot, and it was super helpful.”
Bagnaia also noted that Stoner was “clearly seeing what my bike was doing” during his time in the garage, before sending an indirect plea to Ducati with, “I think it’s super useful if you want to listen to them.”
After the conclusion of the weekend at Misano, Bagnaia revealed his only frustration with Stoner is the fact that the Australian isn’t around more to help him out. The 28-year-old is clearly a fan of the insight that Stoner brings to the table.
READ MORE: Casey Stoner once stated why Valentino Rossi doesn’t ‘come close’ to 137-race rider as MotoGP’s GOAT
Casey Stoner previously slammed Ducati for the way they treat underperforming MotoGP riders
Having spent four seasons as part of the Borgo Panigale-based racing outfit, Stoner is well-versed on the ins and outs of what happens at the team.
In an August interview, Stoner highlighted the message that Ducati replacing Bagnaia would send, pinpointing that the team aren’t afraid of kicking riders out if they’re going through a “bad moment”.
Ducati team chief Luigi Dall’Igna has declared that he’s lost patience with Bagnaia, so it is yet to be seen what the Italian rider’s future at the team looks like if he fails to turn around his current bad run of form.
On the other side of the Ducati garage, Stoner has hailed Marquez’s form in 2025, previously highlighting how phenomenal he was at the Austrian Grand Prix.
The Spanish rider can seal his seventh MotoGP title at Motegi this weekend, if he manages to outscore his brother, Alex Marquez, by three points.
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