Francesco Bagnaia ‘can’t confirm’ whether he tried MotoGP rival’s bike to escape Ducati slump

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Francesco Bagnaia made a remarkable breakthrough with his Ducati bike at the Japanese GP last time out. But speaking ahead of this weekend’s race at Mandalika, he still won’t explain how exactly it came about.

Bagnaia produced a perfect weekend in Japan, winning both the Sprint and the main race from pole. It was his first triumph on a Saturday all season.

A race earlier at Misano, Bagnaia had qualified a rather anonymous eighth before slipping to 13th in the Sprint. He then crashed out of the Grand Prix.

It seems that the subsequent test was a pivotal moment. Bagnaia hailed it as a breakthrough at the time, and while that was treated with scepticism given the story of his season so far, it appears there was genuine truth to it.

Francesco Bagnaia addresses rumours that he used Franco Morbidelli’s Ducati in testing

One theory that has emerged is that Bagnaia rode a year-old Ducati GP24 on the Monday at Misano. Last season, he finished just 10 points behind Jorge Martin in the championship race, winning a career-best 11 Grands Prix and scoring 16 podiums.

With Gresini’s Alex Marquez second in the standings, it’s been suggested that the GP24 is a superior bike to its successor. Bagnaia has struggled to generate any front-end feeling on the ’25 model.

Along with the younger Marquez brother and rookie Fermin Aldeguer, VR46’s Franco Morbidelli is riding the GP24. Bagnaia was asked in the Indonesian Grand Prix press conference whether he rode Morbidelli’s bike – in factory colours – after the San Marino round.

“At Misano, we decided to try several things that have given me more confidence and performance in the past,” he said. “Did I try Morbidelli’s bike? I can’t confirm, but the feeling came from something I’d tried in the past.”

One technician who works with Ducati said Bagnaia was using the 2024 fork at Motegi – the only rider to do so. This ‘fundamentally’ changed the set-up of his bike.

Francesco Bagnaia rumours are hurting Luigi Dall’Igna’s reputation

Ducati have taken a ‘vow of silence’ on Bagnaia’s revised bike, but it’s only a matter of time before the finer details emerge. Both rider and team have been tight-lipped.

While he can’t fully revert to the older spec, Bagnaia may be using a 2024 bike with a 2025 engine – a route Ducati had been refusing to take.

Luigi Dall’Igna will be hurt by Bagnaia’s situation, according to Peter Bom, because it suggests a lack of technical progress over the winter. But it’s very difficult to improve upon near-perfection.

The counterpoint here is that Marc Marquez has won 11 out of 17 races on a GP25. He may have been even more dominant if he’d had the chance to ride last year’s bike, though.