Pecco Bagnaia says the 2026 MotoGP Ducati has “different” DNA to what he previously rode, but believes it is “better” for his riding style compared to the 2025 bike.
The double world champion struggled massively on the GP25 and felt it went too far away from the characteristics of previous Ducati bikes he proved more competitive on.
From the off in the 2026 pre-season, Pecco Bagnaia has looked stronger than he did last year and has generally been happy with the performance of the GP26.
He ended the Buriram MotoGP test fourth overall and believes he has made a step compared to this time 12 months ago, though concedes he is still missing consistency under braking.
“For me, it’s different, but it’s working better for my riding style,” he said.
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“Last year I was struggling from the start, and as soon as we arrived here, it’s a good track for me, but not like Malaysia, where I struggled a lot in the test.
“In the race I did the podium, but my feeling wasn’t the best.
“During this test we worked quite hard on used tyres, quite hard on understanding the bike. I think we did another step in front. I’m still missing something.
“[I’m looking for] a bit more consistency on braking, because sometimes I can brake well and sometimes the bike shakes a bit, but it’s because we’re arriving faster into the corner.
“So, we just need to find more consistency.”
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Bagnaia wasn’t able to complete a full race simulation on Sunday due to an issue with his bike, but had already completed a sprint sim on Saturday.
“Happy with my feelings with the test,” he added.
“Pre-season ended much better than last year, so my feeling is great. Now it’s time to start fighting into the season.
“But right now I can just say that I’m happy. Solid work during the test. Malaysia was important, but here was more important considering what happened last year.
“Time attack went well. I didn’t do a very fantastic lap, but it was enough to be fast.
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“Luckily, I did a sprint simulation yesterday, and it went well, because today I had a small issue during my race simulation, and I had to stop.
“It’s something that can happen during a test, and better in a test than in the race weekend.”
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