Ducati Superbikes star finds it ‘hard to describe’ what he’s seen happen to Pecco Bagnaia in 2025

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The flag-bearing rider of Ducati’s World Superbikes effort, Nicolo Bulega, has expressed his disbelief in Francesco Bagnaia’s form during the 2025 MotoGP season.

Off the back of a fierce championship battle between himself and Jorge Martin for the 2024 premier class crown last year, MotoGP fans thought Bagnaia would be in contention for the title again this year.

However, the Italian rider has looked like a shell of his former self as he has failed to live up to expectations alongside the world-beating Marc Marquez.

The Spaniard clinched the title with five rounds left to go, seeing the chequered flag first on 25 occasions across all formats in the process, whilst Bagnaia has only managed to win three times.

READ MORE: Nicolo Bulega explains why he wasn’t interested in standing in for injured Marc Marquez at Ducati

Nicolo Bulega has explained why he finds it ‘hard to believe’ Pecco Bagnaia’s MotoGP form in 2025

Many members of the Ducati factory team have struggled to understand why someone who has challenged for the title in all three of the last premier class campaigns, winning two of them, has been faced with such adversity this season.

Bagnaia’s relationship with Ducati is becoming ‘untenable’ as engineers at the team work around the clock to try and figure out how to solve his woes.

It’s clear that the GP25 is the problem, but the concern they have regards a change to the bike that has been so dominant in the current campaign, just to suit one of their riders.

Speaking to the media ahead of the current World Superbikes round in Estoril, Ducati rider Nicolo Bulega highlighted the reason why his poor form in 2025 is so hard to believe, telling journalists via Motosan, “Pecco’s season has been marked by ups and downs.

“Honestly, I find it hard to describe what’s happening. You don’t forget how to ride a bike in a week. In Japan, he dominated, winning and breaking records, and a week later, he was last.

“It’s something I can’t explain, and I don’t think either he or the team can.”

Bagnaia has now admitted defeat in his pursuit of P2 in the riders’ standings. The 28-year-old is 88 points short of Alex Marquez’s current tally, and is more at risk of falling below the riders behind him in the standings.

Marco Bezzecchi is currently just 20 points behind Bagnaia, which could be easily overturned in a single Grand Prix.

READ MORE: Francesco Bagnaia only has one ‘possible alternative’ if he wants to leave Ducati before 2026

Francesco Bagnaia has had a rollercoaster of emotions in the last two weeks

Bagnaia was aided by the presence of Casey Stoner in the Ducati garage in between the Misano and Motegi rounds, which was believed to be one of the reasons for his resurgence at the Japanese Grand Prix.

Stoner ‘clearly’ saw an issue with Bagnaia’s bike at the time, and was seen in discussions with engineers from the Borgo Panigale-based team that he won the 2007 premier class title with.

Paired with the extra allotted time of MotoGP’s final in-season test at Misano after the conclusion of the Grand Prix, Bagnaia is understood to have used Franco Morbidelli’s GP24 to try and compare it with the current spec bike he races atop, the GP25.

However, from the elation of having a perfect weekend in Motegi just one week prior, Bagnaia was back down to earth as he failed to score any points in Mandalika.

The 28-year-old finished nearly 30 seconds off the frontrunners in the Sprint and lasted just seven laps in the Grand Prix before crashing out.

The quick turnaround to his previous form has raised further questions over his status as a factory rider for the Italian constructor.