Pecco Bagnaia (4th) is absolutely convinced: he won’t go down in Qatar

Pecco Bagnaia’s form over the past two years has been as changeable as the weather at Phillip Island in October. The Lusail Circuit in Qatar is generally a good venue for the Italian: It was there that he secured his first MotoGP pole position in 2021; he has since stood on the podium four times and claimed victory in 2024 with a start-to-finish win. His second-place finish last year was also impressive, as the two-time world champion had qualified in only eleventh place on the grid.

After numerous setbacks this season, Bagnaia got off to a good start to the weekend in the Persian Gulf, finishing fourth in Friday evening’s floodlit qualifying session, 0.386 seconds behind Fabio Di Giannantonio (VR46 Ducati). His Ducati-Lenovo team-mate Marc Marquez was second, just under a quarter of a second faster.

“If I can secure a front-row starting position, I’ll have a good chance in the sprint.”

Pecco Bagnaia

“I enjoyed riding,” said Pecco, explaining his strong performance. “Given the tarmac and the track layout, I’d expected to have fewer problems with rear-wheel grip. I felt much more support from the rear wheel going into the corners, but it took me a while to realise that I could push much harder here. In qualifying, I put the pressure on right from the start. After such a long time without really getting a feel for the bike, we had to do some fine-tuning, for example with the balance. I’ll find it harder in FP2 and qualifying on Saturday because it’ll be warmer then. If I can secure a front-row starting position, I’ll have a good chance in the sprint.”

Pecco Bagnaia: A good feel – positive signs

“It’s not quite exactly how I’d like it to be yet, but it’s close,” said Bagnaia of his Ducati. “When you feel this good, it’s much easier to work towards a specific goal. Then I can give my team clear feedback. Here, I knew exactly what I needed. If, for example, the bike doesn’t turn enough, then I can say that I need more support from the rear tyre. If the rear tyre just spins out, as it did in Sepang, then it’s much harder to express exactly what I want.”

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In the World Championship, the 29-year-old sits in a disappointing ninth place overall, whilst his team-mate Marc Marquez is on the verge of winning his eighth MotoGP title. Bagnaia trails Alex Marquez (Gresini Ducati), who is ahead of him, by 24 points, whilst he holds a 39-point lead over Enea Bastianini (Red Bull KTM Tech3) behind him. Next season, Pecco will ride for the Aprilia works team alongside Marco Bezzecchi. He wants to bid farewell to Ducati in the best possible way in the remaining races in Doha, Portimão and Valencia. “That’s my job,” emphasised the 31-time MotoGP winner. “I want to make the most of the potential to deliver something good for the team.”