Marco Bezzecchi
The combination of Francesco Bagnaia and Marc Marquez may be one of the most exciting partnerships for a team in MotoGP history.
The 2025 season will see the six-time champion go head-to-head with the form rider of the current decade in a bid to bring the riders’ championship back home to Ducati’s factory.
They missed out on the crown by just 10 points last year, after satellite Pramac rider Jorge Martin remained more consistent than Bagnaia throughout the year.
Martin was snubbed for a promotion to their team, as they opted for Marquez’s talents instead at the age of 31.
Valentino Rossi wants Bagnaia to give 5% more in 2025 if he wants to reclaim the title that was taken from him last year.
He faces his biggest challenge yet though, as Marquez, who tried quite hard not to say he’s a title contender, will be arriving to disrupt his ride at the team and push him to another level.
Francesco Bagnaia and Marc Marquez had a ‘heated exchange’ in the stewards’ room in 2024
The reason that Ducati’s riders are champions is not only down to their exceptional talents, but their abilities to push the limits too.
Sometimes that means going over them, and Roberto Rolfo thinks Marquez makes more mistakes than Bagnaia.
They pushed too far against each other at the 2024 Portuguese Grand Prix, where they crashed in a late battle for fifth place.
It was determined a racing incident by the stewards, but it didn’t stop the riders from criticising each other.
Speaking on Crash’s MotoGP podcast, Lewis Duncan said that the two of them had a heated exchange in the stewards’ office after the incident.
“You remember after that Portugal race? Marc went to the media, said that it was his fault,” he said. “Pecco went to the media before Marc and said it was a racing incident.
“It transpired as well that the two of them had quite a heated exchange in the stewards’ office. There are just those little things there that Marc has in his reserve, and he will be able to push those buttons with Pecco I think.”
Will it be a two-horse race for the MotoGP title in 2025?
Ducati admitted they have a huge responsibility after signing Marquez to give both riders a bike capable of fighting for the championship.
Considering the huge advantage their GP24 bike had last year, winning 90% (36/40) of the races on offer, they should at least start the year in a similar position.
Reigning champion Martin moved to Aprilia after his Ducati snub, which makes his title defence far harder as he gets to grips with what is expected to be a slower bike.
READ MORE: Peter Bom shares his ‘extreme’ take on how Marc Marquez will perform at Ducati in 2025
The Spaniard was run particularly close on the best bike last year, so it means that unless his new team can find big gains over the winter, he’s probably out of the equation.
That leaves Bagnaia and Marquez to fight it out between themselves unless a satellite Ducati rider or one of KTM’s stars can spring a surprise and find a way to get involved.
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