Marco Bezzecchi
Francesco Bagnaia finally silenced his critics with a well-timed victory at the Grand Prix of Americas, blowing the MotoGP championship fight wide open.
His teammate Marc Marquez has relinquished the lead in the riders’ standings to brother Alex, despite having won every race this season until Sunday’s Grand Prix of the Americas.
Bagnaia’s run was a lesson in patience, after waiting for an opening and continuing to apply pressure to the championship leader, he forced a crucial mistake. Even if he didn’t have as much pace, he used his experience to produce a vital result.
Neither Ducati is atop the standings, despite winning every race this season. Instead, Alex Marquez, who is yet to win a premier class race in 90 attempts, is king of the class currently.
Davide Tardozzi explained Bagnaia’s turnaround in one word at COTA, believing that confidence was key to his transformation.
Michael Laverty noticed a change in Bagnaia too, and thinks that a more positive attitude was an important part of his performance in Austin.
Francesco Bagnaia faced a ‘psychological’ challenge at the Grand Prix of Americas after Ducati woes
Now just 12 points behind the championship leader, there is a three-way fight between two factory Ducati bikes and one satellite Gresini machine.
With MotoGP arriving in Europe next month, the picture could flip yet again. Marquez has already visited some of his strongest tracks.
Now it’s going to be time for Bagnaia to shine. Speaking to GPOne after the race, he mentioned the biggest challenge of the weekend.
“I was trying to manage his pace as best as I could, and when I saw him crash I kept pushing to keep Alex at a distance, he was still very close at that moment,” he said.
“It wasn’t easy, he was gaining a lot in the first sector and we were close in the second sector. I think I gained something because of the braking in sector 12, in the third sector I was gaining something. It was also not easy psychologically, because of the way the season started from testing.”
Why Francesco Bagnaia may be in the best position to challenge for the 2025 MotoGP title
One clear disadvantage that Marquez has after his lightning start to the season is that there is a significant expectation for him to do well across the rest of 2025.
It means that Bagnaia shouldn’t have too much pressure on his shoulders to perform, especially now that he has stopped his rot.
The upcoming Qatar Grand Prix should be a big opportunity for the two-time champion to consolidate his recovery.
Bagnaia was feeling ‘angry’ at Ducati after his tough start but his feelings may have changed now. After three races, this is his best-ever start to a season statistically.
Receive racing news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
