Marc Marquez didn’t get one thing Luigi Dall’Igna ‘promised’ at Ducati before 2025 MotoGP season

Add as preferred source on Google

Ducati are the overwhelming favourites for the 2025 MotoGP title. The factory team will run with the 2024 engine instead of the new spec.

Ducati won 19 out of 20 races in 2024 – 16 of which came from the GP24 bike. The machine’s dominance meant the Bologna-based manufacturer had the task of improving on near-perfection for 2025.

Factory Ducati riders Marc Marquez, teammate Francesco Bagnaia and VR46’s Fabio Di Giannantonio ran the GP25 in pre-season testing in Sepang. But it was the GP24 riders who came out on top, with Franco Morbidelli and Alex Marquez looking particularly impressive.

Bagnaia reported difficulties in the braking zone on the new machine. The GP25, at this stage at least, was not as dominant as its predecessor, leaving Ducati with a key decision to make on their engine.

MotoGP teams will be subject to an engine freeze for the 2025 and 2026 seasons. Ducati had a ‘luxury’ over Aprilia and KTM as they had two engines to choose from.

The Bologna-based outfit opted for the 2024 engine, scrapping all the work they had done on the GP25 when they arrived in Buriram for the final two days of testing.

Luigi Dall’Igna’s GP25 failed to deliver the performance he ‘promised’ Marc Marquez

Bagnaia apologised to the media for being a ‘bit of a liar’ about Ducati’s 2025 engine. The two-time champion knew it was flawed in Sepang and that the team had decided on the 2024 spec for this season.

Ducati even asked their satellite riders to test the 2025 engine in Malaysia. Jack Appleyard says ‘the feeling is that Ducati are standing still’ with their engine, which could open the door for their rivals to close the gap.

In a report from The Race, Marc Marquez had been ‘promised’ performance from the GP25 by Ducati general manager Luigi Dall’Igna. The bike ‘failed to deliver’ that promise, leading to a ‘raf of emergency actions.’

The decision to move to the 2024 engine proved to be the right call in Buriram. Marquez stormed the field in Thailand by topping both days in pre-season testing.

What have MotoGP riders said about the favourite for the 2025 title

Despite the disappointment with the 2025 engine, Ducati are still the strong favourites for the championship. Marquez and Bagnaia are set to produce an exciting intra-team battle for the title.

After pre-season testing in Buriram, the MotoGP riders were asked who they felt was the favourite for the title. Unsurprisingly, all of them said one of the two red Ducati riders.

READ MORE: Everything to know about Ducati from the MotoGP team’s riders to hierarchy

Bagnaia backed himself for the title, saying he would give his ‘maximum’ in 2025. The Italian will be desperate to make up for the mistakes that cost him against Jorge Martin last season.

Meanwhile, Marquez was more diplomatic with his answer. The six-time MotoGP champion acknowledged the competition inside and outside Ducati while playing down his own chances.