Marco Bezzecchi
Marc Marquez will adorn the red colours of the factory Ducati team in 2025. The six-time MotoGP champion will be one of the favourites for the title this year.
The Spaniard impressed in his first year on a Ducati last year. Riding for satelitte team Gresini on the year-old GP23, Marquez won three races and finished third in the standings.
Defending champion Jorge Martin was snubbed of the second factory Ducati seat after winning the title with Pramac. Marquez’s ‘beastly’ pull earned him the seat as he partners Francesco Bagnaia.
The duo create arguably the most exciting rider pairing in recent MotoGP history. After Ducati dominated the 2024 championship, many will expect an intense battle between the riders in 2025.
Bagnaia and Marquez had the ‘exact same’ feeling on the bike in pre-season testing – a first for Bagnaia as he has never had that from a teammate before.
Pre-season testing saw Ducati move towards the 2024 engine as the 2025 spec needed to be refined. In the early stages, it seems Marquez has the advantage.
Marc Marquez says red is ‘his colour’ after putting on Ducati overalls for the first time
The six-time champion topped the timesheets on both days of testing in Buriram. A Ducati source said Marquez inflicted a brutal blow on his rivals with his devastating race run in Thailand.
Davide Tardozzi claimed Marquez was ‘nowhere near’ 100% during testing, incinuating there is still more to come. Undoubtedly, this will concern the Spaniard’s rivals – especially his teammate.
While Marquez shone in testing, Bagnaia encountered issues as he finished eight tenths behind on day one in Buriram. Bagnaia was ‘far from being happy’ after the session, with reporter Jack Appleyard claiming Marquez was playing ‘mind games’ already with his teammate.
READ MORE: Everything to know about Ducati from the MotoGP team’s riders to hierarchy
It seems the Spaniard has got accustomed to life at Ducati seamlessly and its not hard to see why. Marquez was overjoyed while putting on the red overalls for the first time.
Speaking in a behind the scenes video on Ducati’s YouTube channel, Marquez was seen gearing up for the launch of the GP25 when he expressed his ‘love’ for the team’s colours.
He said: “You know that I love the red. It’s my colour, black, Ducati.”
Who is the favourite for the 2025 MotoGP title – Francesco Bagnaia or Marc Marquez?
After winning 13 races in 2024, Ducati are the clear favourites in 2025. Now that Bagnaia and Marquez will have the 2024 engine – which won 16 out of 20 Grand Prix – the duo have a great chance to maintain the team’s dominance.
Fabio Quartararo backs Marquez to beat Bagnaia in 2025. The Frenchman himself impressed in pre-season with Yamaha, with Tardozzi calling Quartararo Ducati’s biggest threat this season.
Bagnaia backs himself for the title as he looks to right the wrongs of 2024. The Italian lost the title to Martin by 10 points after costly mistakes with starts and crashes.
Marquez was more conservative about his title chances – as he has been since joining Ducati. Rather than talk up his own prospects, the Spaniard highlighted the competition around the rest of the field.
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