Contract renewal discussions ‘started last year’ - Francesco Bagnaia

Francesco Bagnaia won his second consecutive MotoGP world championship in 2023, after getting the better of Jorge Martin.

A tussle that went down to the final race of the year, Bagnaia cemented himself as the top rider by winning the grand prix, while Martin crashed out following contact with Marc Marquez.

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And since then Bagnaia has been peerless in pre-season testing, topping both the Malaysia and Qatar tests with new lap records.

Speaking ahead of his title defence, Bagnaia said: “We arrive here in great shape. We worked perfectly in the test and managed to do all the work we planned.

“My feeling on the new bike is quite good. We just did five days of testing and we need more days on it.

“But my feeling is good and it looks like this year’s bike is quite competitive right now. Renewing the contract is something very important for me and for Ducati. 

“Having a clear mindset is better and I can be focused on the results.”

Bagnaia’s title defence will begin shortly after signing a new multi-year deal that keeps him with Ducati untilt he end of 2026.

“We started speaking about the renewal last year,” said Bagnaia when discussing his new contract.

“We were in the same direction and I wanted Ducati, and Ducati wanted me. We had time to do it without having so much press.

“Both sides were doing their job so it was quite easy to go through and we are happy together. It was not difficult to sign.”

While 2022 and 2023 were incredible seasons for Bagnaia, both of which showed a different side to Bagnaia’s ability, 2024 could be his hardest year yet when it comes to remaining on top.

Martin is expected to challenge the Italian once again, while Enea Bastianini, Marc Marquez and Brad Binder are also expected to be very strong throughout the year.

But Bagnaia is confident he can remain in the mix, largely because his mindset has never been stronger.

Asked if winning two titles in succession has changed his approach, Bagnaia said: “No! Honestly, no because I want to continue doing what I love to do.

“The ambition is the same, the work at home is the same, the work in the box is even higher and it will always be like this.”