Giacomo Agostini thinks it ‘would be great’ for MotoGP if one rider could fight Marc Marquez

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Giacomo Agostini believes Marc Marquez has been “out of bounds” since he joined Ducati, with the Spaniard firmly on course to win his seventh MotoGP title in 2025.

The 32-year-old has been in a class of his own for the majority of the 2025 MotoGP season. Marquez even leads the standings on 512 points after 16 of this year’s 22 rounds, to hold a 182-point lead over his brother, Alex Marquez, and a 275-point lead over Francesco Bagnaia.

Only a Marquez sibling can win the title in 2025, too, as Ducati rider Bagnaia was eliminated from mathematical contention at Misano. The earliest that Marc Marquez can win the 2025 MotoGP title is also next time out in Japan, if he leaves Motegi with a 185-point gap to Alex.

Marc Marquez will also head to Motegi on September 26-28 chasing yet further glory since joining Ducati, having already secured 11 Grand Prix wins, 14 podiums, eight pole positions and 14 Sprint Race wins. He has not finished lower than P2 in the last nine Grands Prix, too.

Giacomo Agostini feels it ‘would be great’ for MotoGP if Francesco Bagnaia were fighting for wins

Agostini believes the dominance that Marquez has enjoyed since joining Ducati for the 2025 MotoGP season has also seen Bagnaia lose some of his “spirit”. The 28-year-old was the top dog in Borgo Panigale, but he has not managed to adapt his style for the Desmosedici GP25.

READ MORE: Everything to know about Francesco Bagnaia from net worth to race number

Bagnaia only has one Grand Prix win, seven podiums and one pole position so far this term, as well. He also only took that win after Marquez crashed in the lead of the Americas Grand Prix back in round three. So, Agostini hopes Bagnaia can find his spirit to return to the front.

Agostini told GPOne: “Your head is the most important thing in everything, in any business, any sport [and] in normal life. So, your head is the most important thing.

“A Marquez was found this year who is out of bounds. So, he’s maybe lost some of that spirit that I hope he finds again.

“It would be great for our sport to have Bagnaia fighting for first place. So, let’s hope so, let’s hope that this is a fleeting moment.”

Pecco Bagnaia lost his ‘spirit’ sharing the Ducati garage with a dominant Marc Marquez

Bagnaia was the rider who returned Ducati to the top of the MotoGP summit as he won the Bologna Bullets’ first championship since Casey Stoner’s 2007 success in the 2022 term. The Italian also retained his title in 2023, before he finished second to Jorge Martin in 2024.

But Bagnaia’s struggles to adjust to the Ducati GP25 have cost the Turin native most of his confidence, especially under braking. Neil Hodgson was shocked to hear Bagnaia admit to Marquez that he is “losing more and more confidence” every time he rides the GP25, too.

While Marquez has not finished lower than P2 since he finished third at Silverstone in May, and he has not finished off the podium in the last 11 Grands Prix, Bagnaia has only reached the rostrum three times in the same period with P3s at Aragon, Assen and the Sachsenring.

The 2025 campaign has been a brutal regression for Bagnaia, who won 11 of the 20 Grands Prix last year. He also boasts 30 wins from 123 career premier class races. Yet Bagnaia’s only win in 2025 came after his Ducati teammate Marquez crashed out from a comfortable lead.