{"id":113385,"date":"2025-09-02T14:45:13","date_gmt":"2025-09-02T14:45:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/113385\/"},"modified":"2025-09-02T14:45:13","modified_gmt":"2025-09-02T14:45:13","slug":"how-far-has-bagnaia-fallen-behind-compared-to-last-year-in-motogp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/113385\/","title":{"rendered":"How far has Bagnaia fallen behind compared to last year in MotoGP?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Two-time MotoGP champion Francesco Bagnaia<\/a> made a striking admission last month when he revealed his race time in the Austrian Grand Prix was 12 seconds slower than in 2024. Remarkably, this year\u2019s winner Marc Marquez<\/a> completed the distance in exactly the same time Bagnaia had managed on his way to victory last season.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe winner did it in the same time it took me to win last year. So I have the potential,\u201d he told DAZN.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know why things aren\u2019t working out for me. Marco Bezzecchi<\/a> and Marc Marquez did everything better than me. That I finished 12 seconds behind on a circuit where I always made a difference is something I don\u2019t understand, and will never understand.\u201d<\/p>\n

Indeed, while Marquez and the rest stepped up at the Red Bull Ring in 2025 thanks to natural bike progression and other factors, Bagnaia went backwards, finishing only eighth.<\/p>\n

That Austria comparison summed up the slump defining Bagnaia\u2019s 2025 campaign, and has allowed Marquez to close in on a seventh world title.<\/p>\n

But just how badly has the Italian fallen from grace this year, after a 2024 season in which he described himself as the fastest rider on the grid?<\/p>\n

The contrast with 2024<\/p>\n

By the 14th round of the 2024 MotoGP season, the Emilia Romagna GP in mid-September, Bagnaia had already won seven grands prix and 10 podiums in total. Even in sprint races, which were his Achilles Heel last year, he still collected four victories and two other top-three finishes by this point last year.<\/p>\n

\"Francesco <\/p>\n

Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team<\/p>\n

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography \/ LAT Images \/ via Getty Images<\/p>\n

To his credit, Bagnaia has stood on the podium in half of the 14 grands prix so far this year, but with just one victory to his credit in 2025, the season is looking bleak for the Italian.<\/p>\n

In sprint races, his record has been even worse in 2025, not helped by the fuel tank issues he has repeatedly referenced. In the half-distance races, he has scored just five podiums in 14 attempts – with just one of those sprint podiums coming in the last nine race weekends.<\/p>\n

However, for a more accurate comparison to 2024, it would be better to compare only those circuits where he has raced in both years. This avoids any calendar fluctuations, ignoring new or returning events such as Hungary, Czech Republic and Argentina, as well the rescheduled Portuguese GP.<\/p>\n

2025 vs 2024 – Francesco Bagnaia\u2019s finishing positions<\/p>\n

Race<\/p>\n

2025 position<\/p>\n

2024 position<\/p>\n

Thailand<\/p>\n

3rd<\/p>\n

1st<\/p>\n

Americas<\/p>\n

1st<\/p>\n

5th<\/p>\n

Qatar<\/p>\n

2nd<\/p>\n

1st<\/p>\n

Spain<\/p>\n

3rd<\/p>\n

1st<\/p>\n

France*<\/p>\n

16th<\/p>\n

3rd<\/p>\n

Britain<\/p>\n

Ret<\/p>\n

3rd<\/p>\n

Aragon<\/p>\n

3rd<\/p>\n

Ret<\/p>\n

Italy<\/p>\n

4th<\/p>\n

1st<\/p>\n

Netherlands<\/p>\n

3rd<\/p>\n

1st<\/p>\n

Germany<\/p>\n

3rd<\/p>\n

1st<\/p>\n

Austria<\/p>\n

8th<\/p>\n

1st<\/p>\n

Average position**<\/p>\n

4.6<\/p>\n

1.8<\/p>\n

*wet race<\/p>\n

**retirements excluded from averages<\/p>\n

As is clear from the table, Bagnaia\u2019s average finishing position from the sample size in 2024 was an impressive 1.8. This doesn\u2019t count his retirement in the Aragon GP, when he was taken out by Alex Marquez<\/a>, or any of the sprint races.<\/p>\n

With six fewer victories this season, and some tough races like Austria, where he was classified eighth, Bagnaia\u2019s average finishing position has dropped to 4.6. Again, his DNF in the rain-hit French GP has been excluded from the calculation.<\/p>\n

Race times comparison
\n \"Francesco <\/p>\n

Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team<\/p>\n

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography \/ LAT Images \/ via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Going back to Bagnaia\u2019s point about his race pace in Austria, it\u2019s also important to compare his race times in 2025 to last year for a complete picture.<\/p>\n

This is not the best metric for comparison, with variables like track conditions, weather, tyre pressures and bike development all needing to be considered.<\/p>\n

The pace in a grand prix is also usually dictated by the rider at the very front, and Marquez hasn\u2019t always found the need to unleash his true speed in 2025.<\/p>\n

However, ignoring anomalies like Thailand, where lap times dropped by four minutes as the race was moved from October to March, or the rain-hit French GP, some meaningful comparisons can be made.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Francesco Bagnaia – Race time comparison (2025 vs 2024)<\/p>\n

Race<\/p>\n

2025 race time<\/p>\n

2024 race time<\/p>\n

US<\/p>\n

39m00.191s<\/p>\n

41m16s895s<\/p>\n

Qatar***<\/p>\n

41m33.721s<\/p>\n

39m34.869s<\/p>\n

Spain<\/p>\n

40m58.591s<\/p>\n

40m58.053s<\/p>\n

Britain***<\/p>\n

Ret<\/p>\n

39m.57.745s<\/p>\n

Aragon<\/p>\n

41m13.224s<\/p>\n

Ret<\/p>\n

Italy<\/p>\n

41m14.295s<\/p>\n

40m51.385s<\/p>\n

Netherlands<\/p>\n

40m16.738s<\/p>\n

40m07.214s<\/p>\n

Germany<\/p>\n

40m49.934s<\/p>\n

40m40.063s<\/p>\n

Austria<\/p>\n

42m23.492s<\/p>\n

42m11.173s<\/p>\n

***Different time of the year<\/p>\n

The Spanish GP at Jerez is a good barometer for performance, with the race taking place on the same weekend of April in both cases.<\/p>\n

Bagnaia won the 2024 race from seventh on the grid, completing 25 laps around Jerez in 40m58.053s.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s winner Alex Marquez completed the race in 40m56.374s, reflecting an almost two-second increase in pace compared to last year. However, Bagnaia actually recorded a slower time this year, with his pace regressing by half a second over the course of the 25 laps.<\/p>\n

In both years, the early race leader crashed early on, with Jorge Martin<\/a> hitting the deck on lap 11 in 2024 and Marc Marquez ending on the tarmac on lap 3. For context, Bagnaia lost time in 2024 while battling with Marquez, while this year his race time was affected by on-track fights with the younger Marquez as well as Fabio Quartararo<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Bagnaia was also significantly slower at the Dutch GP this year, but so was the rest of the field, so a fair comparison there is impossible.\u00a0<\/p>\n

At Sachsenring, Marquez\u2019s total race time this year was two seconds slower than Bagnaia\u2019s in 2024. But Bagnaia himself suffered a drop of seven seconds over 2024, which is quite significant compared to the rest of the field.<\/p>\n

The Austria comparison Bagnaia made was also quite interesting, as it indicates that while the overall race pace didn\u2019t change compared to 2024, the 28-year-old himself went backwards.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In fact, while Marquez scored his maiden Red Bull Ring win with relative ease, he would have lost out to \u20182024 Bagnaia\u2019 by one tenth in a hypothetical competition.<\/p>\n

Of course, comparisons using average finishing positions and race times come with their own limitations, but they still indicate the general trend between the two years.<\/p>\n

More importantly, Bagania\u2019s comments reflect his psychological state, with the conviction that he was faster with last year\u2019s bike growing stronger in his mind.<\/p>\n

Of course, there\u2019s no denying that the \u2018GP25\u2019 doesn\u2019t suit Baganaia in the same way its predecessor did, but it\u2019s clear that the situation is seriously weighing him down with eight rounds still to go in 2025.<\/p>\n

Read Also:<\/p>\n

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