Francesco Bagnaia and Ducati test rider Michele Pirro believe Ducati’s rivals used MotoGP’s concession rules very well during the 2025 season. These rules helped other teams reduce the gap to Ducati.

Ducati still had an amazing year. The Italian team won all three world championships in 2025, helped a lot by the arrival of Marc Márquez in the factory team. However, Ducati did not dominate as much as before.

In 2024, Ducati lost only one race all season. In 2025, things were different, as Ducati was beaten five times. Aprilia won four races, showing big progress, and Honda took a surprise win in a wet French Grand Prix.

There were also some unusual weekends for Ducati. At the Australian Grand Prix, Ducati failed to put a single bike on the front row of the grid. This also ended Ducati’s long run of always finishing on the sprint race podium.

One reason for the closer competition is MotoGP’s concession system. Ducati is the only team in Group A. This means Ducati has very strict rules. It cannot use wildcard riders and has very limited testing with test riders.

Other manufacturers had more freedom. Aprilia and KTM were in Group C, while Yamaha and Honda were in Group D. Group D teams can test almost as much as they want, which is a huge advantage when developing a bike.

Bagnaia admitted that 2025 was a difficult season for him. He struggled to feel comfortable on the new GP25 bike, while Márquez quickly adapted and won the title with five races to go.

Bagnaia said he still believes Ducati has the best bike on the grid. However, he explained that extra testing could have helped him improve faster.

He said the rules are designed to make the championship fairer. According to him, Aprilia, Yamaha, Honda and KTM all used their extra tests and wildcard entries in the right way. This helped them improve and fight Ducati more often.

Even with these limits, Bagnaia feels Ducati used its resources well and remains the strongest team overall.

Test rider Michele Pirro agreed with Bagnaia. He explained that Ducati’s development work was clearly limited by the rules, especially compared to teams with more testing and tyre options.

Pirro said the goal of the concession system is to bring all manufacturers closer together. In his opinion, it has worked. He explained that the competition has not suddenly become faster, but there are now more bikes capable of fighting at the front.

He also praised Aprilia, pointing to strong recent performances by Marco Bezzecchi and Raul Fernandez. Pirro believes Aprilia did an excellent job using its advantages to become more competitive.

Overall, both Bagnaia and Pirro accept the rules as part of the sport. While Ducati remains the team to beat, MotoGP in 2025 was closer, tougher and more exciting than in previous years.