Frustration at the race weekend is followed by progress at the Misano test: what Francesco Bagnaia has been working on and how Casey Stoner has been helping him
The race weekend on home soil had been a disaster for the double world champion: he missed the top 15 in the sprint race and crashed in the main race, forcing him to retire early. Instead of facing the press, Bagnaia spent Sunday evening in a long technical meeting at the Ducati camp.
Bagnaia sees upward trend on Monday
Just 24 hours later, it was a different story: with a time of 1:30.933 minutes, he ranked eighth in the combined results list, 0.559 seconds behind leader Pedro Acosta of KTM and less than a tenth of a second behind teammate Marc Marquez in sixth place. A crash in turn 1 had no consequences and did not prevent him from going out again afterwards. “Today it was important not to test new parts, but to work with the existing material,” Bagnaia explained after the test. “In Aragon and Jerez, the tests with new parts didn’t work out. That’s why we decided to focus more on performance and my feeling this time.”
“We tried a few weight shifts and changed setups to understand the direction. In terms of pace, I was very competitive. I did my best lap on 21-lap-old tires, which I hadn’t been able to do recently.”
Cautious optimism for Japan
When asked whether the progress made would also be effective at the next Grand Prix in Motegi, Bagnaia responded cautiously: “I want to stay calm. Of course, I hope that we can transfer what we tried here to Japan. The team will certainly work hard there to help me.”
“If we have the same feeling in Motegi, we can fight for the podium again. If not, we’ll continue to work step by step, but in the right direction.”
Bagnaia also pointed out that Monday tests often offer better conditions because the track has more grip after the race weekend. In Misano, however, the difference is smaller: “Here, the grip is already high on the weekend. It was extreme in some corners, but not as much as in Barcelona.”
Stoner as mentor in the pits
Casey Stoner played a central role this Monday. The two-time world champion stayed on after the Grand Prix weekend, where he was honored as a MotoGP legend alongside others, to support Bagnaia in the Ducati pits.
“It’s great to have that kind of relationship with him,” he enthused. “Casey is extremely analytical, sometimes almost too much so, but that’s exactly what’s so helpful. I also worked closely with Manu Poggiali today. Both of them have an incredible eye for detail. They had already recognized many of the things I felt on the track before I even mentioned them.”
As someone said…
Better than Tagliatelle al Ragù
➡️ Testing day at Misano ForzaDucati DucatiLenovoTeam pic.twitter.com/t6603Z1ETO— Ducati Corse (@ducaticorse) September 16, 2025
Stoner was even active in the pits at times. “He once told me that he wanted to be an engineer when he was younger. That worked out pretty well today,” Bagnaia laughed.
For the Italian, one thing is certain: “If I could, I would always have him by my side. Of course, that’s not realistic, but the opinion of former riders is extremely valuable. We get on really well, have similar views, and he works great with my crew chief Cristian Gabarrini.”
“Since 2021, it’s been like this: when Casey is there, we help each other, and for me that’s a huge support,” said Bagnaia. Stoner himself rode for Ducati from 2007 to 2010 and brought the Italian manufacturer its first MotoGP title in 2007.
