Marco Bezzecchi
Ducati general manager Luigi Dall’Igna has noticed a positive change from Francesco Bagnaia that he hopes he repeats when MotoGP hits Sepang for pre-season testing.
The start of the 2026 MotoGP season is now just around the corner, with the paddock about to regroup in Sepang for testing. Factory test riders, rookies and teams with concessions can take part in the shakedown test on January 29-31, ahead of the official test on February 3-5.
MotoGP bikes have not hit a track since November, when the teams put their 2026 packages on circuit in the post-season Valencia test. Trackhouse’s Raul Fernandez set the fastest lap in the Valencia test with his Aprilia, with Gresini star Alex Marquez the fastest Ducati in third.
Bagnaia finished the Valencia test with the 10th-fastest lap time, as the Italian sought to put his front foot forward heading into the winter after a wretched 2025 campaign. The 28-year-old fell to fifth in the 2025 standings, after failing to finish six of the final seven Grands Prix.
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Luigi Dall’Igna feels Francesco Bagnaia ‘found a certain feeling’ on Ducati’s 2026 bike
Bagnaia encouraged Davide Tardozzi during the Valencia test, despite finishing the day with a crash. The Turin native fell at Turn 2 with 43 minutes remaining, as he sought to push with the Bologna Bullets’ 2026 aero package. Bagnaia’s efforts in Valencia also pleased Dall’Igna.
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Like Ducati team manager Tardozzi, general manager Dall’Igna believes Bagnaia showed he found a better “feeling” aboard the GP26 during the Valencia test than he had on the GP25 last season. Dall’Igna now hopes to see Bagnaia replicate that “feeling” at the Sepang test.
“It’s not that there was a problem,” Dall’Igna told AS. “Actually, when we talk about feeling, we are talking about a combination of many things that need to go well, and that’s what we hope to find when we go to Sepang.
“In the Valencia tests after the race, it seemed to me that Pecco had found a certain feeling, and the times were also very interesting. So, I hope to find the same conditions in Sepang.”
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Tardozzi believed Bagnaia had a “lack of trust” with Ducati’s 2025 bike, aboard which he had his worst year since joining the Borgo Panigale crew in 2021. Bagnaia had fought for the title each year from 2021 to 2024, and he won it in 2022 and 2023, but he failed to fight in 2025.
Several MotoGP agents believe Ducati will now release Bagnaia when his contract expires at the end of the 2026 season due to his plight in 2025. His replacement might also already be clear, as Dall’Igna has stated “I’d like to see Pedro Acosta in Ducati” amid a number of links.
Bagnaia must bounce back in 2026 to merit a future with Ducati, who are expected to face a tougher fight from Aprilia this year. Ducati will also not want to invest a lot of resources in helping Bagnaia adapt to the GP26 while they work on their bike for the 2027 regulations.
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