Francesco Bagnaia feels he has “thrown away” the 2025 MotoGP season, conceding that lacking solutions for his troubles on the Ducati GP25 left him powerless to challenge Marc Marquez for the title.
While Marquez has been in dominant form ever since he jumped on the factory Ducati this year, Bagnaia has had a much more difficult campaign on the other side of the garage.
While his initial results were still respectable, as he gathered regular podiums in Sunday races and won the Americas Grand Prix, his form has noticeably declined since the summer break.
Across the last four race weekends, the Italian has accumulated just 24 points, leaving him at risk of losing third place in the standings to Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi.
Two-time MotoGP champion Bagnaia says he still has full confidence in his abilities, but concedes that his recent difficulties have effectively cost him an entire season.
“Because I know my potential, I have no problem with this [Marquez being able to win at Motegi],” he said.
“My problem is just that I threw away a season, but there’s not much I could have done about it. The situation was difficult from the start, we never managed to find a solution, so it was inevitable that it would end like this.
Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team
Photo by: Danilo Di Giovanni / Getty Images
“But, considering what I can do, [Marquez’s title] certainly doesn’t limit my performance. I’ve never had any doubts, I’m fully aware of my capabilities.”
Marquez has been on an incredible run this year, winning 11 grands prix and 14 sprints across the first 16 race weekends.
With a 182-point lead in the standings, the Spaniard only needs to outscore his younger brother Alex Marquez by three points over the Japanese GP weekend to wrap up his ninth world championship – and a seventh premier class title.
Bagnaia claimed that Marquez has been so dominant in 2025 that he never had to face a consistent challenger.
“I feel that this championship was the championship without any rivals for Marc, because he was the only one competitive, the only one constant,” he said.
“It’s never easy, but for him he was not giving his 100% – or maybe sometimes, yes.
“But I really would like to be in my best shape again, because considering the race times of this season, many times I was slower this season [than 2024], so I think we can, it would be a good fight.”
Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team, Casey Stoner
Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images
Bagnaia turns to Stoner for advice
During the Misano test, Bagnaia was able to benefit from the experience of two-time MotoGP champion Casey Stoner in the Ducati garage.
Asked how Stoner’s been helping him recover from his slump, the 28-year-old said: “I think it’s something great, also because [the feedback] was given to the technician, to the engineers, [it is] another point of view.
“He’s very sensitive in every aspect, and honestly what he was saying in the garage was what my bike was doing, and [rider coach] Manuel [Poggiali] too.
“So I think it’s super useful if you want to listen to them, because it’s another point of view. Engineers look at the data and listen to the riders, but are not there watching, riding, so it’s a good point of view.”
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