Francesco Bagnaia opens up on ‘strange’ Ducati issue he’d never experienced before

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Francesco Bagnaia hopes Ducati can give him “an answer” to explain a “strange” issue that the two-time MotoGP champion believes is behind his issues in the 2025 season.

The close of the 2025 MotoGP season cannot come soon enough for the 28-year-old, who is fighting to finish the term inside the top three in the riders’ standings. Bagnaia currently sits third with 274 points, but Marco Bezzecchi of Aprilia is only 20 points behind the Italian.

Gresini rival Alex Marquez can also secure second place in the standings this weekend at the Australian Grand Prix, but he needs a huge points swing. The Spaniard needs to leave Phillip Island having increased his 88-point advantage over Bagnaia to 111 points to end their fight.

Bagnaia even travels to Phillip Island after one of his worst weekends so far this term at the Indonesian Grand Prix. Ducati star Bagnaia finished the Mandalika Sprint in P14 and last, as well as 29.393s off the lead. The Italian even crashed out of last place in the Indonesian GP.

Francesco Bagnaia wants answers from Ducati to explain his ‘strange’ fluctuations in form

Bagnaia has noted ahead of the Australian GP that Ducati have investigated “intensively” to try to find the reason why he was so far off the pace in Indonesia. But his miserable time at Mandalika also proved the fluctuations in form he has experienced for the first time in 2025.

READ MORE: Everything to know about Francesco Bagnaia from net worth to race number

Just a week before MotoGP visited Mandalika, Bagnaia won the Motegi Sprint and Japanese Grand Prix from pole. Bagnaia had only won the Americas Grand Prix and only secured pole for the Czech Grand Prix before tasting success in Japan, but he qualified P16 in Indonesia.

Bagnaia said, via quotes by SPEEDWEEK: “We’ve seen that the same bike was capable of winning at first, and then I wasn’t competitive at the next event.

“It’s all about understanding why that is. The Ducati team has looked into it intensively, and I hope they have an answer because Mandalika, that was very tough.

“The strange thing is that since I’ve been riding a factory Ducati, I haven’t experienced these fluctuations.

“For years, since 2022, there has been a stable base, and almost no fluctuations with the bike. And this difference makes 2025 a complicated season.”

Pecco Bagnaia must improve his form to save his seat in the factory Ducati team

There have been plenty of theories throughout the 2025 MotoGP season to explain the woe that Bagnaia has experienced on the same Ducati Desmosedici GP25 as what Marc Marquez has won the title aboard. Marquez even boasts 545 points to Bagnaia’s 274 so far this term.

Among his issues with the GP25, Ducati’s 2025 ride height device has troubled Bagnaia as it changes the balance of the bike under braking. So, the Turin native has struggled all year to find the feeling with the front of his bike he had while fighting for the 2024 title on the GP24.

So, it has been claimed that Bagnaia raced on a Ducati GP24 instead of the GP25 in Japan, as he did the Motegi double from pole position. But his joy proved to be very short-lived, as Mandalika marked a miserable outing that left Ducati and their rider searching for answers.

Now, reports even suggest that Bagnaia may only have four rounds in 2026 to save his seat at Ducati, with the 31-time career MotoGP Grand Prix winner out of contract at the end of next year. Bagnaia joined the factory Ducati team in 2021, for his third season in MotoGP.