Marco Bezzecchi
Ducati rider coach Manuel Poggiali “really liked” seeing Francesco Bagnaia look “more relaxed” at the 2026 Sepang test after he stomached a sorry end to the 2025 season.
Bagnaia struggled throughout the 2025 campaign to adapt to the Ducati Desmosedici GP25, despite teammate Marc Marquez dominating en route to winning the riders’ title. Marquez scored 11 Grand Prix wins from the 18 rounds he entered, while Bagnaia won two out of 22.
While Bagnaia won the Japanese Grand Prix in round 17 on the day that Marquez sealed the 2025 title, it marked his only race finish in the final seven rounds. The 29-year-old crashed in San Marino, Indonesia, Australia, Portugal and Valencia and suffered a puncture in Malaysia.
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Manuel Poggiali ‘really liked’ Francesco Bagnaia’s focus on improving Ducati’s 2026 bike in Sepang
Bagnaia admitted he did not feel “very good” about his 2025 season after reviewing his year, as the Italian realised that he “could have done more” to adapt to the GP25. But the relaxed way in which Bagnaia arrived at the pre-season Sepang test pleased Ducati coach Poggiali.
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Poggiali believes Bagnaia is now ready to fight for the 2026 MotoGP title after noticing how focused the two-time champion was in Malaysia. Bagnaia’s attentiveness to where Ducati’s bike can improve especially stood out to the 2001 125cc and 2003 250cc world champion.
“I saw a more relaxed Pecco than at the end of last year,” Poggiali explained to Fanpage. “I really liked the test both he and Marc did – very focused on the material to test, and very attentive to what solutions will be for the future.”
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As well as Bagnaia helping Ducati improve the Desmosedici GP26 during the final year of the 1,000cc MotoGP regulations era, Poggiali adds that the Borgo Panigale brand are committed to helping their rider return to the levels of form that saw him win the 2022 and 2023 titles.
Poggiali added: “We are working, as we always have, focusing on the present, on situations that need to be improved and optimised.”
Bagnaia’s drop off in 2025, especially after the summer break, marked a drastic change from the norm for the Italian. He beat Fabio Quartararo to win the 2022 title by 17 points after losing by 26 in 2021, and edged Jorge Martin by 39 in 2023 before losing by 10 in 2024.
Marquez quickly made the 2025 MotoGP title a distant dream for Bagnaia after joining him in the works Ducati team. The Spaniard led the Italian by 168 points after the first 12 rounds last year (with 381 playing 213), and the margin stood at 267 points after round 17 in Japan.
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