Marco Bezzecchi
Francesco Bagnaia successfully managed to get his 2025 MotoGP campaign back on track with a significant victory at the Grand Prix of the Americas.
After a slow start to the campaign, the Italian rider had been left in the dust by new Ducati teammate Marc Marquez.
The six-time champion claimed victory in each of the first five races, with Bagnaia failing to finish higher than third.
A major breakthrough came at the Grand Prix of the Americas when Marquez made an unforced error, sliding off the road and damaging his bike.
Neil Hodgson ‘can’t believe’ Marquez’s crash and couldn’t understand how he could make such a misjudgement in damp conditions.
Bagnaia privately suspected Marquez may crash having experienced similar scenarios himself in the past. He knew it was a possibility before the race.
Francesco Bagnaia should demand Ducati investigation after ‘vibrations’ at the Grand Prix of Americas
Despite coasting home for the second half of the race, Bagnaia’s victory didn’t come as easily as it seemed from the outside.
With Alex Marquez breathing down his neck for nearly 10 laps, he had to push as hard as he could to extract pace from his bike.
Bagnaia faced one key challenge to get over the psychological effects of a slow start to the season, but he built his confidence slowly at got over those.
What won’t be easy to get over, is the unexpected problem he faced with his bike that his teammate didn’t have to deal with before crashing out.
Speaking in an unseen video released by the MotoGP YouTube channel, the two Ducati riders were seen conversing in the media pen after the event.
“The problem was the rear vibration,” said Bagnaia. “I didn’t have any,” Marc replied. “No, but after it started, there was a lot of vibration at Turn six, Turn 17 and Turn 18,” Bagnaia concluded.
Why Francesco Bagnaia now has the upper hand over Marc Marquez at Ducati
The upcoming European portion of the season presents a significant opportunity for the Italian rider who sits third in the standings, 12 points off the lead.
After having to endure multiple tracks which play to the strengths of his teammate, Bagnaia now turns to the likes of Qatar and Jerez which suit him much more.
They are critical rounds of the MotoGP championship for building his confidence, which took a minor dent in Thailand and Argentina.
Although there were murmurs that the title fight may already be over heading into COTA, those were well and truly quashed after Sunday.
Ducati have one big battle on their hands, and it’s going to be up to them to manage it well. Otherwise, Gresini and the younger Marquez are waiting to steal the title.
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