Francesco Bagnaia makes “unconventional” change, Marc Marquez's championship “without rivals”

Francesco Bagnaia says he will be able to pursue the “unconventional” change made to his Ducati GP25 at the Misano test during this weekend’s Japanese MotoGP.

The double world champion is yet to reveal the exact nature of the modifications, which helped restore some of the front-end feeling he has been missing all season.

The only clue he gave is that: "It's a type of work that has never been done."

Sky Italia quotes Bagnaia as saying: “I know Ducati tried to ensure the path they followed was the same as the Misano tests.

“It's a bit unconventional; it wasn't easy to imagine it could be used here, but they succeeded: we'll work in that direction."

Adding to the intrigue, the Italian described the changes as being "not totally, but partly” what he tried at Misano.

Meanwhile, a year ago, Bagnaia claimed a perfect double win at Motegi.

"I was going really fast, I hope I can get even a little bit of that feeling back,” he said.

While Bagnaia seeks to end a ten-race podium drought, team-mate Marc Marquez holds a 182-point championship lead over brother Alex and has his first chance to wrap up the title on Sunday.

"I think there's little to add to what he's done this season,” Bagnaia said of the #93. 

“Especially with the GP25: he's the only one who could ride it at 100%.

“It's been almost a championship without rivals… and he's been unbeatable."

While Marc has won 11 out of 16 grands prix and 14 Sprints, Bagnaia’s COTA win - after Marc crashed from the lead - is the only other victory by a GP25 rider.

With Alex Marquez 93 points ahead in second, Bagnaia now faces a new threat for third in the standings from Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi, who is just eight points behind.