Marco Bezzecchi
Francesco Bagnaia’s nightmare 2025 season is meeting its end in woeful circumstances at the Valencia Grand Prix.
The Italian’s struggles with the GP25 have been well-documented this season. He has continuously complained about a lack of feeling from the bike, while his Ducati teammate Marc Marquez won 25 races across the year to win the championship.
He has regularly struggled to get into Q2 in qualifying in 2025, let alone fight for race wins and podiums. At the Valencia Grand Prix, Bagnaia was knocked out again in Q1 after Ducati made a misjudgment with his fuel load.
He finished a miserable P13 in the Sprint race, only three seconds ahead of his teammate Nicolo Bulega in P16, who is competing in only his second MotoGP race weekend. Despite Ducati’s efforts, things have not improved for Bagnaia, who lamented the ‘same problem’ he has faced all year.
Francesco Bagnaia faced the ‘same problem’ he’s had all season with getting close to rivals on track in Valencia
Speaking to Sky Italia, the 28-year-old had issues getting close to riders in front of him. Bagnaia claims he had the pace of the frontrunners, but could not make overtakes.
“It’s difficult to overtake on this track, and I had the same problem that’s been with me all season: when I’m behind someone, it’s hard to get close,” he said.
“In the end, my pace was similar to Quartararo’s, who finished 7th, but it’s hard to think of a different result if you’re not much faster than the rider in front of you.”
Bagnaia is now fifth in the standings after Pedro Acosta leapfrogged him with his podium in the Sprint. But this does not affect the Ducati rider: “5th place? Honestly, it doesn’t change anything for me, also because our goal is different.
“As for the final race, after a year spent trying a thousand things, no one has any ideas left. I just hope I can have fun and that the bike works well.”
READ MORE: Everything to know about Francesco Bagnaia from net worth to race number
The GP26 could be Francesco Bagnaia’s saving grace at Ducati
Bagnaia will be desperate to get off the GP25 and forget about this season as soon as the Valencia GP ends. He can start to look ahead to 2026, where he hopes the new Desmosedici will be better suited to his riding style.
The Ducati no longer works the way Bagnaia mastered in his earlier years with the Borgo Panigale outfit. Since joining the factory team, he has finished in the top two of the championship, that is, until 2025.
This year’s machine has not suited Bagnaia at all, with him unable to display his strength with braking and corner entry. Getting close to rivals ahead has been an issue all year that Ducati must fix for 2026, and they may have already done it.
Mat Oxley says the GP26 could awaken Bagnaia from his nightmare, as the bike is set to be ‘in all but name’ a GP24. The Italian won 11 races on the bike in 2024 and has had much better feeling from those components on his GP25 this season.
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