Fabio Di Giannantonio<\/a> has seemingly skipped the same problems Pecco Bagnaia has been suffering on Friday. Because of that, a number of riders have pegged the VR46 rider as the fastest in terms of race pace.<\/p>\nIn a straight fight, Di Giannantonio is looking comparable to Bezzecchi. But with the latter effectively removed from the picture by his penalty from the Marquez clash, Di Giannantonio\u2019s grand prix becomes slightly easier, providing he can maintain his one-lap pace in qualifying.<\/p>\n
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Bagnaia\u2019s baffling 2025 season continues as problems persist<\/p>\n
With each passing day, the Japanese Grand Prix looks more and more like the outlier in what has become one of the most baffling seasons ever for a world champion.<\/p>\n
Pecco Bagnaia\u2019s miserable Mandalika represented a new low in a championship full of them, as the form that led him to a clean sweep at Motegi simply vanished. What was confusing about this was the fact that, according to Bagnaia, his bike was the same as the one he rode in Japan.<\/p>\n
Now, what that bike actually is remains one of the great mysteries. We know that a GP24 ride height device was fitted to Bagnaia\u2019s bike for the Japanese Grand Prix. What we don\u2019t know is specific details about what Ducati did to his bike at the Misano test, because it won\u2019t say, nor why the apparent fix to his problems doesn\u2019t actually seem to have worked.<\/p>\n
After Mandalika, where he was almost 30s down in last in the sprint and nowhere in the grand prix before falling, there was at least the factor of the stiffer rear tyre carcass to explain some of the issues. But we\u2019re back to a normal tyre on a relatively normal track surface, and Bagnaia is still floundering.<\/p>\n
Ducati confirmed he tried two very different set-ups on his bikes on Friday, but Bagnaia said \u201ctheoretically, the two bikes are identical\u201d. In both sessions, on one of those bikes, he cast a dejected figure as he came back to pitlane.<\/p>\n
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One of them was \u201cusable\u201d, at least, but didn\u2019t give him the same feelings that he had in Japan. This is confusing because, as he says, the bike is supposedly the same. Worryingly, there remains no answer.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnfortunately, there\u2019s something that\u2019s the same problem as in Indonesia. And we\u2019re not sure how to fix it,\u201d he noted. \u201cThis has happened two or three other times this season, but we\u2019re not really sure where it\u2019s coming from.\u201d<\/p>\n
But this is a terrible weekend to be struggling. With Marc Marquez absent, Ducati needs Bagnaia to step up in a big way. While it is happy for satellite riders to represent it on the top step of the podium, it has Bagnaia in factory red for a reason. And, for most of 2025, he hasn\u2019t done the job expected of him.<\/p>\n
Inside the Ducati garage, it is known that Bagnaia\u2019s struggles have worn thin because of how much work has been done to help him with little results. And his cause isn\u2019t being helped by Di Giannantonio outstripping him over one lap and on race pace on the same GP25.<\/p>\n
Di Giannantonio has gone well at Phillip Island in the past, riding a Gresini-run GP22 to a maiden podium in 2023. When the GP25 is in the window to perform for him, Di Giannantonio has shown good speed. He was over 0.2s quicker than Bagnaia on the timesheet at the end of Practice, while his race pace was hugely encouraging.<\/p>\n
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\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 2025 Australian MotoGP – Practice top 10 pace analysisRiderBikeAverage paceTyreStintTyre ageMarco BezzecchiAprilia1m28.085sSoft13 laps19 lapsRaul FernandezAprilia1m28.657sMedium7 laps13 lapsFabio Di GiannantonioDucati GP251m28.088sSoft9 laps15 lapsFabio QuartararoYamaha1m28.175sSoft11 laps17 lapsAlex MarquezDucati GP241m28.156sSoft10 laps17 lapsAlex RinsYamaha1m28.116sSoft8 laps14 lapsLuca MariniHonda1m28.089sSoft5 laps14 lapsPol EspargaroKTM1m28.726sMedium3 laps9 lapsPecco BagnaiaDucati GP251m27.950sSoft4 laps11 lapsPedro AcostaKTM1m28.007sSoft6 laps15 laps<\/p>\n
On the face of it, Bagnaia appears quicker in that table. But Bagnaia only completed four representative laps. Di Giannantonio completed nine and put 15 laps in total on a soft rear, hinting at strong longevity.<\/p>\n
Rightfully, Di Giannantonio was confident of where he currently stood after Practice. However, he remained cautious owing to his prior problems with the GP25 being sensitive to change for him.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s only Friday, for sure,\u201d he added.\u201cBut today we rode really well, that\u2019s the truth. We were fast. With used tyres, I was fast. So, let\u2019s see. Let\u2019s bring this energy for tomorrow. It\u2019s only Friday, so feet on the ground. But it\u2019s a great start from DiGia\u2019s team. Definitely a fear [of form reversing], but feet on the ground. Great Friday, but feet on the ground and let\u2019s work for tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elsewhere in the Ducati stable, there were contrasting fortunes. Franco Morbidelli was well down the order in 17th on his VR46-run GP24. At Gresini, Alex Marquez was inside the top five and in the ballpark on pace, while Indonesian Grand Prix-winning team-mate and Phillip Island specialist Fermin Aldeguer slid out of the Q2 places in 11th.<\/p>\n
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![\"Pecco](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1760699168_45_gng_1273594_hires.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Pecco Bagnaia, Ducati Corse, 2025 Australian MotoGP<\/p>\n
\u00a9\u00a0Gold and Goose<\/p>\n
Bezzecchi down but not out at Phillip Island?<\/p>\n
The unfortunate thing for Aprilia is that a fit Jorge Martin may well have had something to say this weekend at Phillip Island. A good circuit for the 2024 champion in recent times, he could have helped greatly cover over Bezzecchi\u2019s penalty.<\/p>\n
Aprilia has options, still, for a good result. Raul Fernandez\u2019s Mandalika form carried over into Friday at Phillip Island, as he put his Trackhouse Aprilia second overall. Not doing any used soft tyre running, it remains to be seen just where he fits into the race running. If Mandalika is anything to go by, it\u2019s just outside the podium battle.<\/p>\n
There is an argument to be made that what we\u2019ve seen from Bezzecchi on Friday isn\u2019t even the full picture. While not seriously injured in the crash with Marc Marquez, he is struggling more with pain in his back than he expected.<\/p>\n
Even with that, he smashed the lap record in Practice and was 0.291s clear of the field. Over a 13-lap representative run on the soft rear (which had 19 laps on it by the time he was done), he averaged 1m28.085s in race pace. While there are quite a few who are close, really, his nearest rival was Di Giannantonio on 1m28.088s across nine laps.<\/p>\n
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Fixing to lose just over five seconds in total from his two long lap penalties in the grand prix, his Sunday has become needlessly more complicated. As already mentioned, nothing can be ruled out at Phillip Island. But with a sprint win very likely on another weekend where a double is realistic, Aprilia can\u2019t help but be frustrated.<\/p>\n
Phillip Island full of opportunities for some<\/p>\n
As it stands, from a pure pace perspective, Marco Bezzecchi (carrying a penalty) and Fabio Di Giannantonio have a slight advantage. But there is a big battle shaping up for the podium.<\/p>\n
KTM didn\u2019t factor at the sharp end at the end of Friday\u2019s time attacks, but Pedro Acosta is in solid shape following his Indonesia podium. He complained of a lack of stability, which somewhat explains his crash at Turn 4 halfway through Practice.<\/p>\n
Testing what appeared to be a new swingarm, Acosta\u2019s race pace – albeit over a reasonably short six laps – averaged at 1m28.007s. More encouragingly, he was able to still do 1m27s with 14 laps on the soft rear.<\/p>\n
Tyre life has been a problem for the KTM this year. He managed to negate it at Mandalika through his sheer skill. But Phillip Island is always a punishing venue on rubber and that might ultimately prove the downfall of KTM\u2019s podium hopes come Sunday.<\/p>\n
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More was expected of Honda following its consistent upturn in the second half of the season. At present, however, only one RC213V is in Q2. That was Luca Marini, in seventh, whose race pace also looked solid.<\/p>\n
But Honda will need to make some considerable gains as it faces some stiff opposition from Japanese rivals Yamaha. In theory, Phillip Island should suit the M1 with its strong front end, but rear grip has continued to be something that has felled Yamaha riders\u2019 hopes this season.<\/p>\n
Over a single lap, it remained strong. Fabio Quartararo was fourth, while team-mate Alex Rins was sixth, continuing his strong showing from Indonesia. But it was the bike\u2019s race pace that \u201cexceeded expectations\u201d, according to 2021 world champion Quartararo. Over 11 laps on a soft rear, Quartararo averaged 1m28.175s. That is pace to think about a podium charge, though much of that will hinge on qualifying.<\/p>\n
Subscribe to our MotoGP Newsletter<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After dropping all the way down the order and then immediately rebounding like a yo-yo at the start…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":220051,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[572],"tags":[18009,64,63,17197,15118,4280,10732,806,805,803,804,15119,85],"class_list":["post-220050","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-motosport","tag-aprilia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-ducati","tag-fabio-di-giannantonio","tag-marc-marquez","tag-marco-bezzecchi","tag-motor","tag-motor-sports","tag-motosport","tag-motosports","tag-pertamina-enduro-vr46-racing","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220050","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=220050"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220050\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/220051"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=220050"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=220050"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=220050"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}