Marco Bezzecchi
Being Marc Marquez’s teammate in MotoGP is perhaps the hardest thing to face in the premier class, as Francesco Bagnaia is finding out at Ducati in 2025.
Since joining MotoGP with Honda in 2013, Marquez has beaten every teammate on his way to six titles. Besides 2020, when he missed the season due to a near-career-ending crash at Jerez, no rider has got close to him on the same team.
Many predicted Marquez to dominate Bagnaia in 2025 after he stepped up to the factory Ducati team from Gresini. Despite jumping from the GP23 to the GP25, his transition has been seamless.
The Spaniard has been utterly dominant this season, with six pole positions and Grand Prix wins. Marquez leads the championship by 68 points over brother Alex Marquez as Bagnaia struggles to adapt to the GP25.
Miguel Oliveira reckons Jorge Martin could challenge Marquez if he was on a Ducati. Bagnaia has offered little to no competition to his teammate as the 32-year-old has clearly established himself as the number one rider.
Stefan Bradl says Marc Marquez loves ‘arguments’ with teammates over being the number one rider
Fighting teammates for the number one spot is something that Marquez loves, according to former Honda rider Stefan Bradl. Speaking via Speedweek, he says the Spaniard likes to engage in ‘arguments’ and battle with the other side of the garage.
“It was clear that one of the two would lose ground,” said Bradl. “As the home team leader, Bagnaia was the one in danger – he knew what to expect. Marc had already done superbly in the GP23 the year before.
“It was clear that with factory support there would only be one person calling the shots. I thought Marc would prevail. The bonus Bagnaia had is long gone. Having two alpha males in a team isn’t easy.
“One has to prevail – it’s do or die. In motorsport, it’s almost impossible to have two at this level. Ducati lets the riders fight it out. Marquez loves these kinds of arguments, this kind of competition.
“Pecco has already lost the world championship title to Jorge Martin. Then getting such a candidate into the factory team might be a step too far for him.”
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Marc Marquez has a great relationship with Francesco Bagnaia and Mugello proved it
Ducati are committed to helping Bagnaia improve his form in 2025. The Italian has worked tirelessly to find a feeling on the GP25, even by changing the brake discs to help with braking, but it has not halted Marquez’s title charge.
Bagnaia has apologised to Ducati engineers as he wants to ‘change’ in 2025. He feels guilty that, despite the team’s efforts to help him, he has not found the competitive edge.
The 28-year-old will not like being dominated by his teammate, especially when he won 11 out of 20 races last season. But while they may be rivals, the Ducati riders have mutual respect for one another.
Marquez showed great sportsmanship to Bagnaia at Mugello as the pair shook hands before doing practice starts. He may want to be number one at Ducati, but the Spaniard proved that there is no bad blood between the teammates.
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