Pecco Bagnaia is setting a modest target for the 2026 Japanese Grand Prix. At Motegi, where he won twice last year, the Ducati rider sees a fight for the top seven as a realistic objective rather than expecting another dominant weekend.

Bagnaia took victory in both the 2025 Sprint and Grand Prix at Motegi, starting each race from pole position. That performance stood out during a difficult season, but it did not develop into a sustained recovery for the rider or Ducati. He is still without a Grand Prix win in 2026 and sits ninth in the world championship as the season approaches its final stages. His latest MotoGP podium came at Brno, where he won the Sprint and finished third in the Grand Prix.

Bagnaia remains fond of Motegi, its people and Japanese culture, but Ducati has several technical questions to answer first. The team needs to understand the new asphalt and the tyre differences, while also working on a grip problem associated with the new surface. The circuit’s heavy braking areas may work in Bagnaia’s favour by reducing the gap to rivals compared with some other venues.

Looking back on his 2025 performance, Bagnaia described the feeling as “fantastic” and said he had been riding “like Frank Sinatra”. Recreating that confidence has been difficult. He said he and Ducati have been trying for roughly two seasons to recover the same feeling, without finding it consistently.