Ducati ace Pecco Bagnaia (16th) remarked sarcastically: “It was a normal Friday.”

In Austria, Pecco Bagnaia showed signs of improvement with sixth and seventh-place finishes. The two-time MotoGP World Champion said that he is very strong on the brakes, which is why the Red Bull Ring generally suits him very well. As the Twin Ring Motegi has a similar character to the circuit in Spielberg, the omens for the race weekend in Japan looked good for Bagnaia. What’s more, he won both the Sprint and the Grand Prix there last year.

However, MotoGP Friday at Motegi went anything but well for Bagnaia, a fan of Japan. In FP1, he finished eighth, still in the top 10, but in the afternoon’s qualifying session, he could only manage 16th place. As a result, the Italian will have to compete in Q1 on Saturday.

What went wrong? “It was a normal Friday, just like I’ve experienced many times this season,” Bagnaia shrugged. “I had zero grip; we need to work on that. It’s more or less always the same.”

Pecco Bagnaia: “The aim is, of course, to turn things round”

“We have a strategy to tackle this problem, but compared to Austria, where more or less everyone had grip issues and I was therefore closer to the front, I can feel the difference quite clearly here,” mused the 29-year-old. “I’m struggling more because I don’t feel that extra grip. The aim is, of course, to turn things around and – realistically speaking – to be in contention for a place in the top 10.”

In 2025, Pecco Bagnaia dominated in Japan – he was a step ahead of his rivals. What’s different this year? “Unfortunately, everything,” said the Ducati rider with a smile on his face.

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03.10.2026 - 01:35