How concessions narrowed Ducati’s edge in MotoGP

Francesco Bagnaia and Michele Pirro believe Ducati’s rivals made effective use of MotoGP’s concession system to close the gap over the course of the 2025 season.

Although Ducati swept all three world championships in 2025, helped by Marc Marquez’s arrival in the factory team, its dominance was challenged more frequently than in previous years.

After losing just one grand prix in 2024, Ducati was beaten on five occasions last season, with Aprilia taking four victories and Honda capitalising on a rain-affected French Grand Prix.

The Bologna marque’s streak of podium finishes in sprint races also came to an end at the Australian GP, a weekend in which it failed to place even a single bike on the front row of the grid.

Ducati remains the only manufacturer in Group A under MotoGP’s concession system, a status that prevents wildcard entries and significantly restricts private testing opportunities with test riders.

Aprilia and KTM competed in Group C throughout 2025, while Yamaha and Honda benefited from the greatest freedom under Group D, including virtually unlimited testing.

Asked how the concession system impacted Ducati’s 2025 campaign and his own struggles on the GP25, Bagnaia said: “It's difficult to answer, because I think our bike is the best one. 

“I struggled this season, it's true. In the last [few] seasons, I was always super competitive and I wasn't making many mistakes. This season Marc was there, with less mistakes, and he won with five races to go. 

“I think our bike is still much stronger than all the other bikes. So, it's true that having the test, having some concessions more, could be an opportunity to improve faster. In my case, maybe having more days of tests could have been better.

“But the rules are there to make the championship more equalised and I think Aprilia, Yamaha, Honda and KTM have used their advantage well with tests and wildcards to improve their situations.

“But Ducati is still the best one, and we use what we have well.”

Michele Pirro, Ducati Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images

Ducati’s restrictions on testing and wildcard entries also limited the scope of test rider Pirro’s work on the GP25 - a bike that only Marquez was able to tame in 2025, with Bagnaia struggling for the most part and Fabio di Giannantonio delivering mixed results on the latest Desmosedici GP.

Echoing Bagnaia’s view that the concessions worked as intended, Pirro stressed that the regulations had enabled rival manufacturers to challenge Ducati more regularly at the sharp end of the field.

“Many journalists have paid little attention to the fact that other manufacturers still have concessions, while Ducati is limited in terms of development, testing and tyres,” he said.

“This is normal; it was done to bring the manufacturers closer together. It's not that the level has risen since last year, but now there are more competitive bikes that can fight for the top positions, and what you did last year may not be enough, and you have to do more. That was the purpose of the regulation. 

“As for Aprilia, we have seen the competitiveness of [Marco] Bezzecchi and [Raul] Fernandez in recent races, so I think they have done a great job."