Bagnaia behind the scenes: the Ducati team’s apology and the stewards’ ‘reprimand’

A Saturday to forget for Bagnaia in Valencia: between qualifying and the sprint, the two-time MotoGP world champion collected nothing but disappointments.

Francesco Bagnaia hoped to end his 2025 MotoGP season on a positive note, but things aren’t going his way in Valencia either. Friday’s practice was quite negative, then in Saturday morning’s FP2 there was a step forward that saw him finish second and confident heading into Q1. Unfortunately, when it came time for the final time attack, his Ducati left him stranded.

There wasn’t enough fuel in the tank, and that prevented him from trying to reach Q2, which seemed within his grasp. He started from the sixteenth slot on the grid and in the sprint race he went no further than fourteenth place.

Pecco was bewildered when he had to park his bike on the gravel at Ricardo Tormo and when he returned to the garage. However, he didn’t want to be too hard on his team: "This morning we improved. I was faster, - he told Motosan - and lap after lap I gained a better feeling with the bike. Then in qualifying I didn’t get off to the best start, but on the second attempt I was improving and I ran out of fuel. Fuel is a problem that concerns everyone. I make mistakes, the team can make mistakes too, it’s normal. It’s part of the job, so it can happen."

Even if he didn’t have podium potential, Bagnaia still could have achieved a better result in the MotoGP sprint race in Valencia, but he needed to start further up: "Right now, it looks worse because the situation this season was already quite difficult. And then, starting from sixteenth on a circuit like this, where overtaking is difficult... If you want to overtake, you either try and you crash, or you make contact. So it’s very hard. You have to be much stronger and faster than the riders in front. If we look at the pace, I was on the same pace as Quartararo, who finished seventh."

The three-time world champion is dealing with the same old difficulties, even though depending on the track and conditions he may feel more or less comfortable: "When I ride, I always feel the same sensations. I don’t stop, I don’t turn, and I don’t brake." There can be weekends when he’s competitive and others when he’s incredibly far back.

Davide Tardozzi, interviewed by Sky Sport MotoGP, commented on what happened in Qualifying and then in the Sprint: "We made a mistake, we apologized to him. And he was good enough to tell us, ‘Do you know how many times I’ve made mistakes?’ Unfortunately, it penalized us a lot. I was convinced Pecco could get into Q2 and start further forward. We made a mistake and we apologize. We also think that in the race he could have gone faster, but when you’re stuck behind slower riders you end up having to adapt, your front tire overheats, and it’s hard to overtake, especially on tracks like Valencia."

After the Sprint, Bagnaia was summoned by the Stewards Panel led by Simon Crafar. Tardozzi explained what happened: "Simply, the stewards wanted to show Pecco that when he ran out of fuel he should have immediately gone into the escape road. Rightly, he said he was careful not to create problems for anyone and indeed he didn’t create any issues. The bike was removed immediately by the marshals. They reviewed the footage together and nothing happened, there will be no penalty."