Pecco Bagnaia makes cryptic Ducati claim after “unbelievable” final lap at Sepang
Pecco Bagnaia endured another difficult MotoGP race at Sepang before hinting that a previous technical solution "no longer exists" at Ducati.
On pole, winner of the Sprint and fighting for Grand Prix victory until a puncture at Sepang last season, Pecco Bagnaia completed this year's race with a final lap slower than the Moto2 class.
Bagnaia's “unbelievable” last lap of 2m 5.1s was over four and a half seconds behind his own best earlier in the race, as he took the chequered flag in 13th place, 32.9s adrift of Ducati team-mate and race winner Marc Marquez.
“Yesterday I was just lucky that it started to rain,” he said. “Today I saw that my limit was the grip. Even trying to manage it, after five laps I was without the rear tyre and needed to start thinking about just finishing the race.
“In the last lap I did 2m 5.1s, for me it's something unbelievable, considering what I know that I can do here. But it's like this, and we need to accept it. Three [rounds] to go and try to do the maximum.”
Motegi 2025: Something changed "that allowed me to ride again"
Speaking to Sky Italia, Bagnaia added, “At the end of the race, I couldn't even touch the right-hand turns with my knee”.
But the double MotoGP champion then spoke cryptically of a “change” that had preceded his shock double victory at Motegi last season but “doesn't exist” anymore.
"The problem [now] isn't from the setup, and it's not from an electronics calibration, so adding or taking power away, even if you make big changes, doesn't solve anything.
“We've been doing it all year, and the problem has always remained the same.
“Last year it was the same.
"At the Misano test and [then] at the race in Japan, something other than simple calibrations and setup had been changed, and that change had allowed me to ride again.
“Now, unfortunately, that thing evidently doesn't exist, just as it hasn't existed since the race after Japan last year. “
Pressed on why the change no longer exists, Bagnaia replied: "It doesn't exist, let's not go into details."
Asked about Bagnaia's comments, Ducati team manager Davide Tardozzi replied:
"Honestly, I have no idea what he's referring to. We've done everything we could, but unfortunately we haven't yet found what he needs."
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
