Marco Bezzecchi
Francesco Bagnaia set the eighth-fastest time as MotoGP’s pre-season testing began on Tuesday. He was seven-tenths off the benchmark set by Ducati teammate Marc Marquez.
On the face of it, that’s a concerning outcome for Bagnaia, reminiscent of his 2025 results. However, a clear picture will emerge after the flat-out time attacks on the final day.
What’s more, Bagnaia sounded notably positive in an interview with Sky Italia after the session. He has built on an encouraging post-season test in Valencia last November.
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The 2022 and 2023 world champion is coming off the worst year of his MotoGP career. His fundamental discomfort on Ducati’s GP25 made him unrecognisable for much of the campaign.
Francesco Bagnaia has found what he spent a year ‘looking for’ at Ducati
Marquez said Bagnaia would benefit from a break, and sure enough, the 29-year-old sounded far more enthusiastic on Tuesday than he did at the end of last year.
Bagnaia resorted to some radical experiments last year in the hope of restoring his ‘feeling’ on corner entry, but it came naturally on the early version of the GP26.
The Italian did start on pole position for last year’s Malaysian GP, and he was only seven-thousandths off the fastest time on day three of the 2025 Sepang test. Therefore, he’s taking his initial findings with ‘a pinch of salt’.
“Starting again is fantastic, what MotoGP gives you is incredible,” he said. “I really enjoyed it today.
“We had the chance to do several laps, both this morning on the medium and this afternoon on the soft. We worked really well, I must say; everything we tried gave clear feedback.
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“Fortunately, my feeling is very positive, especially on the front of the bike under braking and on corner entry, which was what we were looking for last year. So for now, it’s good.
“Then we focused on new parts like the fairing: it has pros and cons, but I did the exact same time with both, old and new, so for a start and a few kilometres, it’s positive.
“We tested the new bike, updated in a few areas where they were able to make adjustments. I felt comfortable right away.
“Fortunately, what was a limitation last year doesn’t seem to exist here. It’s also true that it’s a track where I’ve always been fast, so for now you always have to take everything with a pinch of salt, but I’m very relieved with this first day; I felt good straight away.”
Pecco Bagnaia’s Sepang test comments show Ducati have signed Pedro Acosta too soon
Bagnaia arrived in Malaysia after a wave of reports suggesting he has lost his Ducati seat for 2027. Like virtually every rider in MotoGP, he’s entering a contract year.
It’s widely believed that Pedro Acosta has agreed to join Ducati. Luigi Dall’Igna hasn’t afforded Bagnaia any time to turn things around in the early rounds.
If Bagnaia becomes a podium machine again at the start of the season and shows contending speed, then Ducati may regret acting so hastily.
Acosta may well have a higher ceiling, but he hasn’t conclusively demonstrated that he’s a stronger rider than Bagnaia.
It arguably made sense to wait and gather more evidence, particularly because most riders would put their plans on hold if a Ducati seat were on offer.
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