Marc Marquez changed one thing on his Ducati that ‘bothered me’ at Jerez test, Francesco Bagnaia thinks differently

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Marc Marquez lost the lead of the MotoGP riders’ championship after the Ducati pilot crashed during the Grand Prix of Spain, so used the Jerez test to make some changes.

The 32-year-old now trails his 29-year-old brother Alex Marquez of Gresini by only one point after the opening five rounds. Marc Marquez re-joined the Spanish GP after his fall on Lap 3 of 25 and rescued a P12 result racing a damaged bike to also limit his number of points lost.

Alex Marquez winning his first-ever MotoGP race at Jerez last weekend also handed him the championship lead for the second time. The Cervera fully capitalised on his six-time premier class champion brother’s fall from P3 after passing Fabio Quartararo and Francesco Bagnaia.

Marc Marquez moved Ducati’s rear ride height device lever at the Jerez test as it ‘bothered me’

Marc Marquez crashed out of P3 in the Spanish GP amid pressure from Bagnaia after seeing his Ducati teammate start to pull away in pursuit of Yamaha rival Quartararo for the lead. He fell at Turn 7 after carrying too much speed into one of Marquez’s strongest corners at Jerez.

It was even the second time since joining Ducati for the 2025 MotoGP season that Marquez has now crashed whilst contending for a Grand Prix win after his fall in America. So, the 65-time premier class Grand Prix winner utilised the Jerez in-season test to make some tweaks.

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One of the areas that Marquez worked with Ducati to improve during the Jerez test was to improve his feel for the location of the rear ride height device on his GP25. The Spaniard had found the lever’s initial location bothersome, while Bagnaia does not mind it being on the left.

“The program was very long with several things to test,” Marquez explained, via quotes by Marca. “Some were parts already tested in Thailand and the feeling was good.

“The chassis? It was the same as always, while the small lever you see on the left is used to load the rear at the start. Before, it was in a different position, but it bothered me so I moved it, unlike Pecco, who kept it where it was.

“Otherwise, I tried the new Michelin tyres, some new electronic solutions and I re-adjusted some pre-season solutions that hadn’t given a clear answer and that worked here.”

Marc Marquez could strike fear into his rivals after finding answers at the Jerez test

Despite him not being fully comfortable with the location of Ducati’s rear ride height device lever, it did not stop Marquez challenging Quartararo for the lead of the Jerez Sprint off the grid and also the Spanish GP. He might have led both had the Yamaha rider not started well.

Not being fully comfortable with the GP25 even did not stop Marquez winning the Sprint at the Spanish GP for his fifth Sprint victory and to maintain his 100% record this season. So, it could strike fear into some riders that Marquez thinks he found even more in the Jerez test.

KTM rival Pedro Acosta finds Marquez’s dominant start to 2025 a ‘pleasure to see’, though, as watching the Ducati rider run riot encourages his fellow Spaniard. Sunday’s race was the first Grand Prix that Marquez has finished but did not win since he joined Ducati this term.