Davide Tardozzi has now changed his mind on the ‘main opponent’ for Marc Marquez and Francesco Bagnaia

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Before MotoGP’s Sepang Test, Ducati team manager Davide Tardozzi named Jorge Martin as the biggest threat to their dynasty in 2025. One could see how he reached that verdict.

Martin is the reigning world champion and joins Aprilia with a chip on his shoulder after losing out on a Ducati factory seat to Marc Marquez. Tardozzi has seen up close just how good he can be.

What’s more, Aprilia were the only team who denied Ducati a clean sweep in 2023. Maverick Vinales took victory at the Grand Prix of the Americas, while teammate Aleix Espargaro won a Sprint.

If Massimo Rivola’s team could make a step over the winter, then Martin could be a dark horse. But he already finds himself at a major disadvantage.

The Spaniard missed almost the entire test after a violent highside on day one. He had to return to Europe for an operation on his broken fingers and toes.

It’s unclear whether Martin will be able to ride the bike again before the start of the season. Indeed, his participation in the Thailand Grand Prix is no longer guaranteed.

Davide Tardozzi sees Fabio Quartararo as the biggest threat to Ducati

With this in mind, Tardozzi has cast his eyes elsewhere. He’s now more focused on Yamaha and Fabio Quartararo.

The Japanese squad were the fourth fastest last season but, on the evidence so far, they’ve made the most progress of any manufacturer. They had plenty of room to improve, of course, but right now it looks like they could be second in the pecking order.

Ducati’s GP24 could still be race-winning machinery this season, so even the second-fastest bike may struggle to get on the podium regularly. But Quartararo has shown that he will maximise its potential.

On the final day, the 2021 world champion was third-fastest, less than three and a half tenths off pace-setter Alex Marquez. Speaking to Sky Italy, Tardozzi made a prediction that Yamaha’s fans will love.

“At the moment I see Quartararo as the main opponent,” he said.

The scary detail in Fabio Quartararo’s Yamaha data during Sepang Test

Quartararo will naturally be cautious for now. He knows that there will be a clearer picture of the competitive landscape after the Buriram test next week.

Even then, it’s only testing. Neither Aprilia nor KTM appear to have fully shown their hand just yet.

But Quartararo’s smile returned in Malaysia. Having dragged the bike to 13th in the standings last year, his feedback is now much more positive.

Quartararo set a ‘massive’ lap time of 1:56.7 during the time-attack runs on day three. A look at the data shows that Yamaha have smashed their previous Sepang record by eight-tenths, surely an ominous sign for their immediate competitors.