Pecco Bagnaia angry at Sepang: “The situation is unacceptable.”

A disappointing Friday for the Piedmontese rider, who is still not at the level he had hoped for in Malaysia: his impressions during the test at the start of 2026 were completely different.

Francesco Bagnaia couldn't wait to race at Sepang, one of his favorite tracks: in MotoGP, he won the full-length races there in 2022 and 2024, as well as the 2025 sprint race. And back in Moto3, he triumphed on the Mahindra in 2016. Malaysia holds many fond memories for him, but today was not a good day: he finished 13th in FP1 and 12th in Practice.

In the afternoon, he also crashed with just over two minutes remaining in the session, throwing away his chance of making the top 10 and therefore earning direct entry to Q2 in qualifying. He will have to go through Q1, while hoping that he and the Ducati team can find a solution to help him become more competitive. Unfortunately, the signs point to another difficult weekend.

Is Pecco's situation at Sepang better than the standings suggest? Here is what he told Sky Sport MotoGP: "Honestly, it's a little hard to say. I didn't expect to struggle this much. I expected to have at least the same feeling I had during the test, especially since we'd decided to start with that bike. But all I have from that bike is a good memory. Today, nothing about the way it works feels similar, and unfortunately I can't perform".

Bagnaia explained the issues making it difficult for him to be competitive in Malaysia: "My main problems are in the flowing sections, sectors 2 and 3. In sectors 1 and 4, where there are two straights, I think I'm among the top three; everywhere else, I'm losing eight tenths. This situation is unacceptable to me, both on my part and on the bike's. I'm struggling to accept it because there's no way for me to carry speed through the corners: the front folds and I run wide. And I have virtually no grip, so it's complicated".

The Sepang lap record belongs to the Piedmontese rider himself. In 2024, he set a 1'56"337 that has remained unbeaten ever since: "Sometimes I watch that lap again," he admits, "because it reminds me that I can do it".

The vertical fins fitted to his Desmosedici GP26 have had no noticeable effect. The explanation is simple: "To feel the changes," Pecco says, "you need to have a feel for the bike. Unfortunately, I don't. What makes me angry is that things have always come fairly easily to me at this track, but it's difficult when I arrive and this is how the bike feels. You can no longer do simple things like change direction on the throttle, because the rear starts to slide: it's something you don't expect, and you have to react accordingly. By then, you've already lost out from the start".

A dejected Bagnaia had hoped that at least at the Sepang International Circuit he would find himself in a reasonably competitive position. Instead, he continues to grapple with problems that seem impossible to solve, despite his efforts and those of the Ducati team.

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