Marco Bezzecchi
Ducati rider Francesco Bagnaia and general manager Luigi Dall’Igna met in the Borgo Panigale brand’s garage after the Italian’s pole position for the Malaysian Grand Prix.
Bagnaia scored pole for the Malaysian GP on Saturday for his third pole of the 2025 MotoGP season to date. The 28-year-old also secured pole for the Czech Grand Prix at Brno in round 12/22 and the Japanese Grand Prix at Motegi in round 17, before setting the pace at Sepang.
He will now hope that the Malaysian GP further echoes his results at the Japanese GP, more so than the Czech GP. Bagnaia won the Motegi Sprint and Japanese GP in September for the Turin native’s only Sprint win this term and second Grand Prix victory, after the Americas GP.
Bagnaia scoring pole for the Malaysian GP at Sepang also snaps a sorry run for the two-time MotoGP champion. He only qualified in P16 for the Indonesian Grand Prix at Mandalika and P11 for the Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island over the past two rounds of the campaign.
Francesco Bagnaia joked he ‘didn’t see’ Luigi Dall’Igna celebrate his Malaysian Grand Prix pole
Additionally, Bagnaia only earned P14 in the Mandalika Sprint, crashed in the Indonesian GP, took P19 in the Phillip Island Sprint and also crashed in the Australian GP. Bagnaia admits he still needs “something more” despite his pole at Sepang, too, after having to go through Q1.
READ MORE: Everything to know about the Malaysian Grand Prix, including past winners
Yet despite recent results not being as strong as Ducati would desire, Dall’Igna did not go to parc ferme to celebrate Bagnaia’s Malaysian GP pole with the 2022 and 2023 champion. So, Bagnaia jokingly called out the Ducati general manager, who fired back with a quick retort.
In a brief behind-the-scenes clip that Ducati shared on X immediately after qualifying for the Malaysian GP on Saturday, Dall’Igna started off by asking Bagnaia as they embraced in a hug in the Borgo Panigale outfit’s garage: “It would be better to do the pole position, right?”
To which, Bagnaia told Dall’Igna: “I didn’t see you at parc ferme. I was looking for you, but I didn’t see you there!” So, Dall’Igna responded: “I stayed here, going ahead with the work.”
Ducati will now want Pecco Bagnaia to reclaim third place in the standings from Marco Bezzecchi
It has been reported that Bagnaia’s plight has created increased distances with Ducati’s top management this year, having fallen to fourth place behind Marco Bezzecchi of Aprilia in the standings. It is also said that Ducati could replace Bagnaia after his contract expires in 2026.
READ MORE: Everything to know about Francesco Bagnaia from net worth to race number
Bagnaia fell behind Bezzecchi in the championship standings following the Australian GP, as the Aprilia rider surpassed the Ducati ace’s 274 points with 282 to date. So, Ducati will now hope to see Bagnaia capitalise on Bezzecchi’s contrasting fortunes in qualifying at Sepang.
While Bagnaia bounced back to bag pole for the Malaysian GP, Bezzecchi only managed P14 in qualifying at Sepang as he bowed out with the fourth-fastest lap time in Q1. Bagnaia set a 1:57.190 in Q1, to finish second to Gresini’s Fermin Aldeguer, while Bezzecchi set a 1:57.549.
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