Ducati have now taken a vow of silence on ‘top secret’ change to Francesco Bagnaia’s bike

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Francesco Bagnaia had by far his best weekend of the season at the Japanese Grand Prix. But the reason for his remarkable upturn is a mystery.

Bagnaia had won a Grand Prix and taken pole position this year before Motegi. He’d never managed to do so in the same weekend, though.

And this was a clean sweep – pole, Sprint, GP. That Saturday victory was perhaps the most significant of all given Bagnaia’s well-documented struggles in the shorter format.

With a combined winning margin of six seconds over the two events, Bagnaia was truly in a class of his own. Marc Marquez may have sealed the title, but this performance finally gives the Italian some hope of challenging his teammate consistently.

Ducati are refusing to reveal how they changed Francesco Bagnaia’s GP25 at Motegi

As Mat Oxley reported for Motor Sport Magazine, Ducati have taken a ‘vow of silence’ on their changes to Bagnaia’s GP25. As such, outsiders simply ‘don’t know’ what inspired the improvement.

Bagnaia committed to the veil of secrecy, too. When asked, he shifted the focus onto the engineers.

Oxley calls this ‘a strange situation’ because Ducati could have addressed the ‘vacuum of information’ that has developed in recent months.

Simon Patterson, speaking in The Race’s latest podcast, called the circumstances ‘top secret’. It’s only a matter of time before the truth emerges, though.

“We know that something has changed,” said Patterson. “It’s like, code-word, clearance, top secret inside Ducati [as to] what has changed. We will eventually find out because we always find out. People always talk. It’s just going to take a while to get there.”

Bagnaia was the only rider using a 2024 fork at Motegi, according to one technician who works with Ducati. This apparently facilitates fundamental changes in bike set-up.

What Casey Stoner ‘forced’ Ducati to do before Pecco Bagnaia resurgence

Bagnaia had Casey Stoner in his corner at Misano, and it may not be a coincidence that everything clicked at the very next race.

Speaking last Thursday, Bagnaia said Stoner saw something the engineers couldn’t. His perspective as a champion rider was invaluable.

Ducati hadn’t been listening to Bagnaia’s coach, but when one of their greatest-ever riders raised similar concerns, they felt compelled to act.

Patterson said: “I think Stoner was pivotal in this, and not because he found something, but because he forced them to pay attention to what others had been telling them…

“[Bagnaia and his coach] have been in agreement for quite some time, and Casey has come and said, probably in stronger language, ‘What on Earth are you doing to this kid? Fix this, because we can see what’s wrong’.”