Pecco Bagnaia ended the Thai test with a glimmer of hope despite finishing fifth, half a second behind Marc Marquez. After a chaotic Wednesday, the Turin native managed to transform his Ducati, navigating through the problems, even if he was unable to produce a race simulation or a flawless timed attack.
Pecco Bagnaia, had a difficult day during the tests of Buriram. Despite this, he managed to draw positive lessons and confirmed the choice of Ducati to keep the 2024 engine for the 2025 season.
Pecco Bagnaia finished pre-season testing in Thailand feeling much more optimistic than his fifth place overall, half a second behind his team-mate, would suggest. Marc Marquez. Bagnaia acknowledged that the start of the day was not ideal, but he welcomed the positive evolution of his session: " Today it went much better. We identified The problems that we had yesterday and, even if they were still present this morning, we solved them start after start. » Although he failed to improve on his fastest lap time, bagnaia drew positive points from the day: “ I am satisfied. The most important thing is the feeling and being fast with worn tires »
The big decision for Ducati has already been taken: the team will use the GP24 engine for the seasons 2025 et 2026. However, bagnaia clarified that the bike will not be exactly the same: " I prefer engineers to say it, but I would define it as a GP24.9 (laughs), very close to the GP25. » The Italian driver made it clear that he did not regret not having a new engine: " Improving the 2024 one is difficult, and I think that our rivals would pay to have it »
bagnaia also admitted that he had hidden his true opinion on the GP25 during testing: " I lied to you these past few days, but I couldn't tell the truth. From the beginning, I was convinced that the 2024 engine was better. Marc and I had the same feeling from the first day in Malaysia. » The engine freeze for the next two seasons was a key factor in this decision: " This had a great influence. We have already taken a risk in 2023, and we don't want to find ourselves in that situation again. We chose the 2024 engine because it is the best »
Pecco Bagnaia: “ Marc Marquez was very, very fast, he is the one who arrives the most prepared for the first race »
Unlike Marc Marquez, Bagnaia has not carried out a full race simulation, but he is not too worried about it: " starting with the base of last year's bike, we know what to expect. Since I completely lost yesterday, I couldn't afford to abandon the trials to focus on the simulation.. » He did, however, carry out a partial simulation, with encouraging results: « we did a great job, we are ready for the race. Unfortunately, I had some complications in the timing, but I can't say which ones (it seems that there were a defective Michelin tire, ed.) I did a good race simulation, because even if the tires were deteriorating, the times were improving. »
bagnaia acknowledged his teammate's impressive performance Marc Marquez during his racing simulation : " Marc was very, very fast. He only slowed down for a few laps because he passed Aldeguer. Overall it has been very competitive, and it is the one who arrives the most prepared for the first race. » He also highlighted the performance of Marco Bezzecchi on'Aprilia : " I saw it very strongly »
bagnaia expected to work with Marc Marquez be beneficial, but he was pleasantly surprised by the similarity of their feedback on the Ducati : " I knew he was a professional and would help us improve, but it was very positive to see that our comments were very similar »
Despite the technical challenges encountered during testing, Pecco Bagnaia ends the preseason with optimism. With a well-tuned bike and a strong team, the reigning champion is ready to defend his title in 2025. However, the competition promises to be fierce, with Marc Marquez et Marco Bezzecchi already in great shape. One thing is for sure: bagnaia does not intend to be dethroned at Ducati without a fight.
MotoGP, Buriram Test J2 Final: times
