Ducati’s Pecco Bagnaia says he still needs to “take two or three steps” following his third place finish at the 2025 MotoGP Germany’s Grand Prix.
Having struggled with wet throughout Saturday, Bagnaia had to come from the 10th on the grid at the 30-lap Grand Prix at Saxenring on Sunday.
A quick start put him behind the podium fight on early laps, but numerous crashes before him ultimately promoted him to third place.
A major recovery from Germany’s Grand Prix Weekend was marked as he scored points in 12th place in the wet sprint.
But he’s chasing his first victory since Austin in March while teammate Mark Marquez brought his tally to 7 for the campaign.
“You have to look at the positivity and I’m very pleased with the outcome (10 days) because I don’t know what will happen from there,” he told SkyItalia.
“There was a pace out there to fight for the podium and I was pretty sure I could fight for the podium before the race.
“I knew this could be possible. Then, after some things happened, many riders made a mistake because it wasn’t easy.
“It was complicated to get to the end, but generally, with the exception of Mark and Alex (Marquez), I was very similar in terms of pace and driving sense.
“We need to move forward two or three steps. It’s certainly going to work in the direction we took, give the team data, do more laps, and we certainly find the first way.”
Bagnaia continues to struggle to find confidence from the Ducati front end in 2025, making notes at the German Grand Prix that he is “not very stable” while fighting in the podium group.
“Alex does a great job,” he said at a post-race press conference.
“He was injured and managing 30 laps on every track on the left side is not easy.
“I was trying to force him a bit, but I wasn’t too fast enough to be very close.
“Apart from Mark, it was a very intense race today, because we were four riders with a very similar pace.
“And that was very difficult because we were all pushing to get closer and the front wasn’t very stable – it was sketchy.
“So it’s important to finish today’s race and I’m very happy.”
Bagnaia is 147 points away from championship leader Marc Marquez in the middle of the season.