Francesco Bagnaia believes that despite the success of other brands, the Ducati Desmosedici GP is still the best bike in MotoGP.
Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi took his second win of the season in Portugal last weekend (November 7-9), while Honda has been able to finish on the podium twice in the last five races with Joan Mir, while Pedro Acosta is also a constant podium threat and is just three points behind Bagnaia in the rider standings.
But Bagnaia believes the strength of Marc Marquez, who has been sidelined with injury since Indonesia, is proof that the Ducati is still the best bike on the grid.
“I think our bike is the best one,” Francesco Bagnaia said at a pre-event press conference ahead of the Valencia MotoGP when asked if the concession system made it difficult for Ducati to develop the Desmosedici in 2025.
“I think we struggled this season, that’s true, but last season we were always competitive and made a lot of mistakes but still won.
“This season Marc (Marquez) made fewer mistakes and won the remaining five races. I think our bike is still much stronger than all the others.”
“It’s true that taking tests and making a few more concessions could be an opportunity to improve faster. In my case, more testing days would have been better, but the rules are there to make the championship more equal.
“I think Aprilia, Yamaha, Honda and KTM used their advantage well in the test and wild card to improve the situation.
“But Ducati is still the best and I think we made good use of what we had.”
“I had a hard time accepting reality.”
Although Bagnaia still believes Ducati’s strength is superior to other teams, Bagnaia’s season has clearly been a disaster compared to previous years.
The rider, who won 11 major races in 2024, has three wins this year (including a sprint) and seven DNFs between sprints and grands prix, but the Italian isn’t even sure he learned anything from the experience.
“Honestly, there’s definitely been more bad than good this year,” he said.
“After a string of poor results in the last four seasons, finishing third, I struggled to accept the reality of this season.
“I tried to work as best as I could with the team throughout the season, trying to understand and trying to adapt to the 2025 bike, but unfortunately I wasn’t able to do that. So it was very difficult.
“This bike has really good potential, because if you look at Marc, he showed it. But other than that, I was just struggling.
“So, honestly, I don’t know if we’re going to learn anything from this season. I think it’s good to be clear in our heads that we were always trying to adapt to it and always trying to be competitive.”
“So this will help me in the future, but I hope that when I get on the (2026) bike on Tuesday I can feel myself again and fight for the top spots next year.”
This weekend’s Valencia race will be the 22nd of the year, with Bagnaia’s toughest season in MotoGP in the longest season in the championship’s history.
The Ducati Lenovo Team rider finds it even tougher given the current difficulties, but that doesn’t necessarily have to change.
“We’re prepared for anything and I think it’s fair to have a calendar like this,” Bagnaia said.
“We’re enjoying riding and to be honest it would be great to race more in Europe and we’re having a good time there.
“In my situation, it’s honestly more difficult, but that’s the way it is. It’s great that it’s the way it is.”
“Last year we needed one more race, this season maybe five less, but that’s what it is.”