Pecco Bagnaia Sees Positive Balance on GP26

MotoGP, Sportrik Media - Pecco Bagnaia says the overall balance of Ducati’s GP26 is encouraging after the opening day of the Sepang MotoGP test, while stressing the need for caution when assessing his form at this early stage of the pre-season.

The double world champion endured a difficult 2025 campaign, scoring just two wins and finishing fifth in the standings amid struggles to extract consistent performance from his Ducati package. Initial running of the 2026 prototype in Valencia last November delivered positive sensations, which carried into Tuesday’s first day of action at the Sepang Test.

Bagnaia ended the day eighth overall after completing an extensive test programme that included a range of new components, most notably a radical aerodynamic fairing. The workload covered runs on both medium and soft tyres, alongside a reset of baseline feeling compared with last season.

First of all, it’s always fantastic being back on a MotoGP bike.
The speed and the power the bike gives you is something incredible.
I really enjoyed it from lap one.

We had enough time to do many laps using both tyres, medium and soft.
In the morning we focused on finding my feeling again, which was important from last year.
Then we focused on testing new things, new parts, and the new fairing.

I’m happy, it was a positive first day.
Right now, the balance is positive.

A major limitation for Bagnaia last season was a lack of confidence at the front of the bike. He felt there had been an improvement in this area with the GP26, but remained wary of drawing firm conclusions, having also been competitive at Sepang last year before results tailed off later in the season.

Luckily, yes, there is an improvement.
But last year here I was also fast and competitive.
So right now we just need to focus on understanding the new things.

Then we’ll see if for Thailand we can take something as an advantage to start the season.

On the new aerodynamic package, Bagnaia suggested performance was broadly comparable to the previous configuration, leaving Ducati with decisions to make before committing to a race specification.

It’s like always: some areas are better, some areas are worse.
Honestly, I did the same lap time with both fairings.
So it’s more or less similar.

If the race was tomorrow, I would still have some doubts about the front fairing.
But as a first test and the first laps we did, it was competitive.

Paragraf penutup
Bagnaia’s measured approach underlines Ducati’s focus on understanding the GP26 rather than chasing headline lap times in the opening stages of pre-season. With the Sepang test continuing, front-end feeling and aerodynamic direction remain central priorities before attention shifts to the next phase of testing and preparations for the season opener.