Pecco Bagnaia: 2024 MotoGP title loss ‘will take years to digest’

Double MotoGP world champion Pecco Bagnaia says “it will take me years to digest” how he lost the 2024 title despite winning more races than anyone else that year.

The factory Ducati rider was engaged in a season-long battle for the 2024 world championship with Pramac Ducati rival Jorge Martin.

Pecco Bagnaia won 11 grands prix out of 20 last season, matching a feat only a select few - such as Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo - have done in a single campaign.

But the Italian ultimately missed out on a third premier class crown by just 10 points to Martin, who only won three grands prix.

Despite his stunning victory record, Bagnaia’s championship charge was knocked by eight non-scores across the campaign.

Pecco Bagnaia makes MotoGP title admission

In the first part of a new YouTube documentary series entitles GOFREE, Bagnaia admits the loss of the 2024 title still weighs on him and believes it will do for some time.

“In the end of last season, it’s still there [in my head],” he said.

“I think it will take me years to digest that.

“What I tried to do over the winter was to analyse why I didn’t manage to win the title even though I won more races than anyone else.

“I couldn’t manage to bring home the title and that was difficult to accept, but surely important for my career because when you lose in this situation either you sink or your try to learn.”

The start to the 2025 season has not been easy for Bagnaia either, as he has been bested by team-mate Marc Marquez - in terms of speed - at every round so far.

Bagnaia was a distant third in the Thai Grand Prix, while he failed to make the podium in a race he finished for the first time since Austin 2023 at the Argentina GP, where he was fourth.

The Italian has struggled since the pre-season to get comfortable with the GP25, particularly under braking, though made a step forward in this area last weekend at the Americas GP.

Set to finish second at COTA, a crash for Marquez while he was 2.2s up the road gifted a first victory of the season to Bagnaia.

Heading to next weekend’s Qatar GP, Bagnaia is now only 12 points off new championship leader Alex Marquez, who is one point clear of older brother Marc Marquez.