Marco Bezzecchi
Fans are anticipating a mega MotoGP championship battle between Francesco Bagnaia and Marc Marquez in 2025.
Ducati have put them both in the same team with the aim of retaining their status at the top of the pecking order, while also finding a way to reclaim the riders’ championship.
With the reigning champion injured and out of competition for the time being, the door is well and truly open for one of Bagnaia or Marquez to win the title.
They have eight titles between them, but Peter Bom thinks Bagnaia is ‘untouchable’ against Marquez in one area – his elite mindset.
As happened in 2024 at the Portuguese Grand Prix, they may clash on track. It will be up to the team to manage their relationship well on and off the tarmac.
Marquez may already be playing mind games with Bagnaia after setting some blistering pace at the Sepang and Buriram tests. He has made a statement of intent early on in the campaign.
Francesco Bagnaia afraid he will never discover Marc Marquez ‘secret’ at Ducati
The only problem for the two riders this season is that they will have unparalleled access to each other’s data.
It means they can see exactly what the other is doing to be quicker, and it could transform the picture in the MotoGP title fight.
Marquez may have formed a surprise alliance with Bagnaia at Ducati after showing signs of working well together so far.
As soon as the intensity ramps up and competition begins, that outlook could change within the Italian manufacturer.
Bagnaia worries that he will never be able to figure out one key aspect of Marquez’s skillset in their fight for glory.
“He does something different from everyone else, but I’m afraid I’ll never discover his secret in the left turns,” he told DAZN’s Dream Team documentary.
Which Ducati rider looked better at pre-season testing between Marc Marquez and Francesco Bagnaia?
With just five days of pre-season testing before the start of the season in Buriram, it was difficult to assess where riders were at the close of play.
Throughout the majority of sessions though, it was Marquez on top for Ducati. His race simulations looked very impressive too.
MotoGP riders predict Marquez will win the championship by a margin of 12-10, suggesting just how close their colleagues think it will be.
READ MORE: Marc Marquez ‘worries’ Mattia Pasini after what he heard Ducati rider say about Francesco Bagnaia
Bagnaia could very well be a different animal when it comes to race day, as he often is. He will be right there with Marquez regardless of what has happened so far.
He has been a contender for each of the last four seasons and shouldn’t be any different this year. It may be his toughest challenge yet, though.
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