Francesco Bagnaia and Michele Pirro believe Ducati’s rivals have made effective use of MotoGP’s franchise system to close the gap in the 2025 season.
Although Ducati won all three world titles in 2025 with the help of Marc Marquez joining the factory team, its dominance is being challenged more frequently than in previous years.
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After losing just one grand prix in 2024, Ducati was beaten five times last season, with Aprilia taking four wins and Honda taking advantage of a rain-affected French Grand Prix.
The Bologna brand’s record of podiums in sprint races also ended at the Australian Grand Prix, where it didn’t even have a bike that made it to the front row during the weekend.
Ducati remains the only manufacturer in Group A under the MotoGP franchise system, which prohibits wildcard entries and greatly limits private testing opportunities for test riders.
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Aprilia and KTM compete in Group C throughout 2025, while Yamaha and Honda benefit from the maximum freedom of Group D, including virtually unlimited testing.
Asked how the franchise system could impact Ducati’s 2025 campaign and his own struggles in GP25, Bagnaia said: “It’s difficult to answer because I think our bikes are the best.
“I struggled this season, that’s true. Last season [few] For a few seasons I was always very competitive and didn’t make a lot of mistakes. This season, Mack is on the field, has fewer turnovers, and is winning with five games left.
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“I think our bike is still much stronger than all the other bikes. So to actually test, to make more concessions, might be an opportunity to improve faster. As far as I’m concerned, maybe a few more days of testing might be better.
“But the rules are there to make the championship more equal and I think Aprilia, Yamaha, Honda and KTM have done a good job of using their strengths through testing and wildcards to improve their situation.
“But Ducati is still the best and we make the most of what we have.”
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Michele Pirro, Ducati Racing Team
Michele Pirro, Ducati Racing Team
Ducati’s restrictions on testing and wildcard entries have also limited the scope of test rider Pirro’s work on the GP25 – only Marquez has been able to tame the bike in 2025, Bagnaia has struggled much of the time, and Fabio di Giannantonio has had mixed results in the latest Desmosedici GP.
Pirro echoed Bagnaia’s view that the concessions had the intended effect, stressing that the regulations allowed rival manufacturers to more frequently challenge Ducati at the forefront of the competition.
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“Many journalists pay little attention to the fact that other manufacturers still have concessions and Ducati is restricted in terms of development, testing and tyres,” he said.
“It’s normal, it’s about bringing manufacturers closer together. It’s not that the level has improved last year, but there are more competitive bikes now competing for top positions and what you did last year maybe wasn’t enough, you have to do more. That’s what the regulations are for.”
“For Aprilia we have seen its competitiveness [Marco] bezekihe [Raul] Fernandes has been in recent games so I think they’ve done a good job. “
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Also read:
Francesco Bagnaia ‘struggles to accept’ new reality during 2025 MotoGP trough
Jorge Martin: “I could have fought Marc Marquez on a Ducati”
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