Marc Marquez has formed one surprising ‘alliance’ since joining Ducati for 2025 MotoGP season

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Marc Marquez will be a factory rider for the first time in MotoGP since leaving Honda in 2025. The Spaniard has moved over to Ducati from satellite team Gresini.

The six-time MotoGP champion impressed in his first season on a Ducati bike last year. Marquez won three races on the GP23 last year and was the closest challenger to Francesco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin for the title.

The 31-year-old finished third in the standings in 2024 – his highest finish since his sixth title win with Honda in 2019. After a solid season with Gresini, Marquez will now get to ride state-of-the-art machinery with the factory Ducati team.

Dominating the championship last season, the Bologna-based outfit look set to repeat that success in 2025. Ducati have opted to stick with their 2024 engine after the GP24 proved to be quicker than the GP25 in pre-season testing.

Partnering with Bagnaia, Marquez has a great opportunity to win the title in 2025. The Spaniard stormed the field in pre-season, topping the times on both days in Buriram.

Marquez’s transition to Ducati has been rather ‘seamless.’ That is thanks to an ‘alliance’ that not many would have expected before the start of the season.

Marc Marquez has formed an ‘alliance’ with Francesco Bagnaia in the Ducati pit box

Marquez and Bagnaia’s partnership has been compared to Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna during their McLaren days in F1. The comparison looks accurate in terms of riders’ immense talent and their rivalry.

Ducati have a difficult task on their hands in 2025 with two riders who are targeting the title. Bagnaia and Marquez’s rivalry has been simmering in secret ahead of their clash this season.

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

The duo’s conflict dates back to Bagnaia and Marquez’s heated exchange after their crash in Portimao last season. There is also national pride behind it given the rivalry between Spain and Italy in the premier class.

But according to journalist Simon Patterson, the two riders have formed an ‘alliance.’ Speaking on The Race MotoGP YouTube channel, he says Bagnaia and Marquez have been sharing data, with no ‘niggles’ between them so far.

“It’s been basically seamless so far. It’s very, very obvious that he’s bonded pretty quickly with the team even though he’s still getting to know them.

“It’s very, very apparent that both him, the Ducati management structure and his teammate Pecco Bagnaia have formed a really close alliance within the pit box and are doing a lot of data sharing and information sharing that’s really helping Marquez get up to speed with being back in a factory team.

“There just hasn’t been any niggles, there hasn’t been any massive upsets, anything that’s going to delay the process.”

Is Marc Marquez playing ‘mind games’ with Francesco Bagnaia already?

Marquez and Bagnaia seem on good terms for now. But once the championship kicks off with the Thailand Grand Prix, the duo will be looking to beat each other for the title.

Bagnaia backs himself to win the championship but not many agree after the arrival of his teammate. Many people in the paddock think Marquez will take Bagnaia apart – even if they want to stay quiet on the matter.

The six-time champion has repeatedly played down his title chances during the off-season. But it is clear Marquez has the advantage after Bagnaia encountered numerous issues in Buriram, particularly with braking.

Jack Appleyard thinks Marquez is playing ‘mind games’ with Bagnaia after the Spaniard lapped eight tenths quicker on day one in Thailand. They may have an ‘alliance’ now, but Ducati could have a serious headache over their riders in 2025.