Francesco Bagnaia is making an attempt to cover his hopes for 2026 MotoGP after final 12 months’s disastrous outcome.
However whereas the previous double champion is cautious to not overpromise, he’s a minimum of aiming to make life “tougher” for reigning champion and teammate Marc Marquez.
Bagnaia can be inspired by the texture and efficiency of the newest Ducati GP26 elements he sampled throughout November’s post-season outing in Valencia, heading into subsequent week’s official check at Sepang.
“The prototype we tried in Valencia was good. It was enjoyable that day,” Francesco Bagnaia mentioned on the latest Ducati MotoGP crew presentation.
“Fortuitously, the race was two days in the past, and though I struggled over the weekend, I felt higher and my tempo was higher in Tuesday’s check.
“So I loved the bike. It was a aggressive tempo. I do not suppose the engineers have modified a lot. They’ve simply improved on some areas that I struggled with throughout the season.”
“However I am unable to say a lot as a result of I do not know the small print, however I am certain the brand new bike might be aggressive.”
The Italian gained 4 races final 12 months however had little satisfaction in GP25, the place Marquez was capable of dominate.
Most frustratingly, Bagnaia and Ducati had been unable to make linear progress in fixing the issue.
As a substitute, he had his worst weekend within the closing levels, failing to attain in 10 of the ultimate 14 races, however profitable 3 of the remaining 4 races.
“I need to battle extra within the championship, not like final 12 months, and it may make Marc’s life tougher, not like final 12 months,” he mentioned.
“There are lots of quick riders, so will probably be vital to be aggressive from the beginning and battle them and attempt to regain what we misplaced final 12 months.”
Bagnaia will participate in Superbike coaching in Mandalika with VR46 Academy riders earlier than heading to Sepang for official MotoGP testing from February 3 to five.
