Rancak Media – The challenging days for Ducati Lenovo rider Francesco Bagnaia persist, casting a long shadow over the opening day of the final MotoGP Valencia 2025 series.
Francesco Bagnaia found himself struggling to unlock his bike’s true potential, a predicament that left him stranded outside the top 10 on the initial day of the MotoGP Valencia event. This underperformance is a stark continuation of the difficulties he has faced throughout the season.
The Italian two-time world champion’s struggles were evident during Friday’s practice sessions at Spain’s Ricardo Tormo Circuit in Valencia (14/11/2025), where he could only manage a 14th place finish. This result means Bagnaia will now have the added pressure of fighting his way through Q1 to secure a better grid position.
His gap to the tenth-placed rider, Fabio Quartararo of Monster Energy Yamaha, was a mere 0.160 seconds, yet it was enough to push him out of automatic qualification for Q2. This narrow margin highlights the intense competition and Bagnaia’s current difficulty in finding that crucial extra tenth of a second.
Expressing his frustration, Bagnaia admitted he failed to discover a suitable setup across both free practice sessions. “This is a normal day this season: problems from start to finish,” Bagnaia stated, as reported by BolaSport.com via Motorsport, perfectly encapsulating his persistent struggles.
“We took the wrong direction and there was no improvement at all throughout the session,” added the rider affectionately nicknamed ‘Nuvola Rossa’ (Red Cloud), underscoring the team’s inability to find a breakthrough during the crucial practice time.
MotoGP Valencia 2025 – Bagnaia Off the Radar, Final Series Set to Be a Battle Between Acosta and Bezzecchi
For Francesco Bagnaia, the 2025 MotoGP season appears to be drawing to a close in a deeply disappointing fashion. Despite being a two-time champion, ‘Pecco’ remains unable to pinpoint or resolve the recurring issues that have plagued him since the very beginning of the season.
Once touted as a strong contender to dominate the championship alongside Marc Marquez, Bagnaia now faces the sobering reality of potentially finishing as low as fifth in the final standings. This dramatic shift from expected dominance to a season-long struggle has been a significant narrative throughout the year.
In Valencia, Bagnaia once again voiced his concerns about his Ducati Desmosedici GP’s persistent problems with braking and entering corners at speed. The lack of stability, while seemingly a minor complaint, is a critical issue that has stubbornly defied solutions, much to the perplexity of both rider and team.
“Here you have to brake while leaning, you need a bike that can turn sharply, and I don’t have it,” Bagnaia explained, articulating the fundamental handling issues that are severely impacting his performance on track. These specific problems are exacerbated on circuits like Valencia, which demand precise braking and agile cornering capabilities.
The endless nature of Bagnaia’s difficulties is particularly alarming given Ducati’s profound understanding of their own Desmosedici GP machinery. Even the factory team seems baffled by the elusive nature of these problems. “It’s hard to ask the team what I need,” Bagnaia confessed, revealing the depth of the diagnostic challenge.
“I’m pretty clear about it, but if you look at the data, it’s very hard to achieve such performance,” he continued. His resignation was palpable as he reiterated, “It’s hard to make a diagnosis, honestly,” signaling a profound sense of helplessness as the final event of the year unfolds.
Looking ahead, Bagnaia remains pessimistic about any significant breakthroughs, even with the scheduled post-season test on Tuesday (18/11/2025) at the same circuit. “Tuesday won’t change anything, because the bike will remain like this,” he stated, indicating his lack of faith in immediate solutions and reflecting the deep-seated nature of his machine’s current issues.
Summary
Francesco Bagnaia encountered significant difficulties on the opening day of the MotoGP Valencia 2025, finishing 14th in practice and missing automatic qualification for Q2. This underperformance reflects a season-long struggle, with Bagnaia admitting he failed to find a suitable bike setup and faced “problems from start to finish.” His inability to gain crucial tenths of a second highlighted the intense competition and his ongoing challenges.
The two-time champion’s 2025 season is ending disappointingly as he remains unable to resolve persistent issues with his Ducati Desmosedici GP’s braking and corner entry stability. Bagnaia explained that his bike lacks the ability to turn sharply while braking, a fundamental problem that even the factory team finds hard to diagnose. He expressed pessimism, believing the upcoming post-season test would not bring significant improvements.
