VR46 confirm Francesco Bagnaia “tried our GP24” at Misano MotoGP test

VR46 team director Alessio Salucci has confirmed that one of Franco Morbidelli’s GP24s was handed to Francesco Bagnaia for his breakthrough Misano MotoGP test.

Bagnaia’s season-long front-end woes were suddenly transformed at the outing, where he later claimed he was 0.7s a lap faster than during a 'disastrous' San Marino Grand Prix weekend.

The Ducati Lenovo rider backed up that form by dominating last weekend’s Japanese round, winning both races from pole position for his best event of the season.

Admitting only to using some older parts, speculation has grown that Bagnaia's breakthrough came from effectively switching to a GP24 fitted with this year’s GP25 engine.

Bagnaia cannot change engine spec due to the homologation rules, but the GP25 powerplant is said to be very similar to its predecessor.

"Pecco tried… Morbidelli’s bike"

During FP1 at Mandalika, Dorna pit-lane reporter Jack Appleyard asked Salucci how much VR46 had helped Bagnaia at the Misano test.

“Well, we tried to... Ducati asked something to our team. We are a family. Ducati family. VR46 family. And we try to help him a little bit Monday in Misano. But after during the [Motegi] race, I don't know nothing. We have our bike in our box and Ducati, I don't know, give [Pecco] another one.”

Pressed to confirm that VR46 handed Pecco one of Morbidelli's bikes, so that he could test some of the GP24 items, Uccio replied:

“Yeah. Pecco tried… on Monday at Misano, tried our bike, Morbidelli’s bike. But after Monday, the bike came back in our box. And after that, I don’t know.”

It is not clear if Bagnaia ran Morbidelli’s complete GP24 at the test, or if Morbidelli’s bike was already modified with a GP25 engine.

Bagnaia cannot switch to the GP24 engine due to MotoGP’s homologation rules, but the GP25 powerplant is said to be very similar, with only ‘durability’ tweaks. The Italian was still using the 2024 aero package.

Asked on Thursday by Crash.net’s Indonesian reporter Derry Munikartono if it was true that he rode Morbidelli’s bike at the test, Bagnaia replied:

“The thing is that in the Misano test we decided to try different things, that also in the past gives to me more confidence and performance.

“So, I’m not confirming what you are saying, but I confirm that the feeling that I felt back in the Misano test was arriving from some items that we were using in the past.”

The lack of a straightforward denial was seen as confirmation that the rumour was true and subsequently confirmed by Salucci’s words on Friday morning.

Salucci looked surprised when his quotes about Pecco trying Morbidelli’s bike were subsequently flashed onto the screen during FP1, which ended with Bagnaia 17th and Morbidelli 12th.

Double world champion Bagnaia, who endured a ten-race podium drought before Motegi, said he was "very happy but also very angry" after his Japanese success: 

“Because maybe we could’ve done [the changes] earlier, after one or two grands prix.”

Bagnaia’s team-mate Marc Marquez has been able to adapt to the GP25, dominating the season and wrapping up the 2025 title, with five rounds still to go, last weekend.

Younger brother Alex is his closest rival, on a GP24, followed by Bagnaia in third. Morbidelli is fifth in the world championship, two places ahead of GP25 team-mate Fabio di Giannantonio.