Valencia MotoGP test “will not change anything” for Francesco Bagnaia
Francesco Bagnaia is not expecting to make a step forward in the post-race MotoGP test at Valencia.
The final round of the 2025 MotoGP season feels like one Francesco Bagnaia has been looking forward to for a while, but he does not expect his struggles to end at the beginning of 2026.
The new season starts next Tuesday (18 November) with the post-race test in Valencia, but the final round of the season has to come first, and it was a difficult start for the two-time MotoGP winner at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo, who finished only 14th in Practice and thus missed Q2.
“Honestly, a standard day in 2025,” Francesco Bagnaia said after Practice in Valencia.
“Struggling from the start and we just tried a direction that wasn’t the correct one, so we lost a bit of time.
“In the last part of the session I was pushing to try to be in that top-10 but I missed. So, it’s very similar to the last weekends.”
With the post-race test coming up on Monday, perhaps Bagnaia is looking forward to starting the new season.
“No,” he said, “I just would like to enjoy the weekend, the rest of the weekend improving.
“Honestly, Tuesday will not change anything because the bikes are the same ones.
“So, there will not be a step there.”
Bagnaia indicated that his Valencia struggles were expected, and that his issues are the same ones that have affected him all season, particularly on corner entry.
“Honestly, this track is [one where] if the problems are there like always this one will be tough,” the Ducati Lenovo Team rider explained explained.
“In this track, you need a bike that stops well with [lean angle], and a bike that turns well, and my bike this season – unluckily – is not doing that.
“The problems here are worse, but we are managing things in a good way, I think – we improved from the morning and we did a good step in front so I hope tomorrow we will do another one.”
The Italian added that he knows what he wants from the bike, but he cannot make the technical changes in order to get that.
“It’s so difficult for me to ask something to the team,” he said.
“I clearly have my idea of what will be something that will help me, but looking at the data and everything it’s difficult to arrive to this kind of performance.
“So, it’s difficult also for me to understand well and analyse the things, and we are trying to do it in the best way as possible, but it’s difficult, and we are trying from the first race.”
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