Bagnaia ready to face the season after an “intense” winter

As he begins a new year in the premier class of motorcycling, Pecco Bagnaia does not feel particularly stressed. It must be said that the Italian is starting his seventh season in MotoGP, and that he has won the world title twice. He dropped it by just a few points last year against Jorge Martín. Better still, being back on the track and seeing his little comrades again gives him a certain joy!

“The off-season is getting shorter and shorter! Starting the season here is different from Qatar, but it’s still the first race. When you can take the photo at the start of the year with the whole grid, it’s fantastic. I feel like I’m back to work, so it’s nice. I feel good, I sleep well so everything is ok.”

Cordial understanding?

If the number 63 found the off-season short, it is also because he had to work a lot with Ducati. Whether at the Valencia tests at the end of 2024, or those of Sepang and Buriram at the beginning of the year, Bagnaia lined up the laps. All in order to select the best chassis-engine combination. The choice was also made on an improvement of last year's GP24, rather than a renewal with the GP25. The reason? A regulation that freezes the engines until the end of 2026, while a new 800cc formula will come in 2027.

“It was very intense, we worked a lot and had to try a lot of new parts. The choice of the engine to use was really crucial, since we have to keep it for two full seasons. We didn’t want to take a big risk by taking an engine that works well but on which we lacked something in terms of braking. We therefore decided to use again the engine of the GP24 which was fantastic, and on which we have the feeling we still have room for improvement.”

While the package he will have at his disposal will be substantially the same as in 2024, Francesco Bagnaia welcomes a new pit neighbour this year. Marc Márquez, six-time world champion in the premier class, is certainly one of the favourites for the 2025 world title. The Italian wants to be reassuring before starting a collaboration that could on paper turn out to be explosive. No question of playing dangerous games from Thailand this weekend...

“We are starting the season, it is no secret that we are both here to win the title. Our ambition is to achieve it, we will do our best, and I think we will fight regularly this season. I don’t think we will play the strategy here already, the most important thing is to improve, to learn as much as possible from the new bike. The base is the GP24 but something changes every season. We will try to adapt to it, we don’t want the other manufacturers to get closer.”

Aprilia as an opponent

Speaking of the competition, Bagnaia expects all the Ducatis to be fighting for the front positions from this weekend. The six machines will be based on the all-conquering GP24. A bike that won all the Grands Prix last season except the round in Austin. It was Aprilia that won there. Even without its world champion, the Noale factory is a scarecrow for Bagnaia. He was impressed by the pace shown by Marco Bezzecchi during the recent Buriram tests.

"If we look at the results of the tests, Bezzecchi should be fast on the Aprilia. The other Ducati riders will be dangerous too, Morbidelli and Álex Márquez were competitive. It's difficult to know right away who will be our constant opponent. But for the first races, I think the Ducati riders, Bezzecchi and Acosta (KTM) can fight for the victory."

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