Alex Marquez explains why Francesco Bagnaia’s Japanese Grand Prix revival doesn’t ‘worry’ him

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On a weekend where he is the only man who can stop Marc Marquez from being crowned as a seven-time world champion, Alex Marquez failed to score any points in the Japanese Grand Prix Sprint race.

The Gresini rider took the flag in 10th after starting from eighth on the grid following a busy Saturday morning, which saw Marquez make it through to Q2 by just under two tenths of a second.

The drop of the lights in the Sprint race saw Marquez make an impressive start, but an issue with the ride height device on his Ducati GP24 meant he fell a few positions down the order.

On the other hand, Francesco Bagnaia had an impressive performance in the Motegi Sprint, securing his first win of the 2025 season in the shorter format races ahead of the championship leader in second.

READ MORE: Francesco Bagnaia shares his one ‘hope’ after Ducati gave Alex Marquez a factory bike for 2026

Alex Marquez isn’t worried about Francesco Bagnaia taking second place in the standings from him

The Spaniard currently holds an 81-point advantage over Bagnaia for second place in the riders’ standings, something that Marquez has been rewarded for by Ducati after they confirmed he will receive a factory bike for the upcoming campaign.

Speaking to journalists, via Marca, after the conclusion of the Japanese Grand Prix Sprint, the 29-year-old explained why the impressive result from his stablemate doesn’t worry him in the grand scheme of things.

“It’s something that shouldn’t worry us or distract us, in a way,” Marquez declared. “In the end, we have to focus on ourselves. We’ve been fast from the beginning of the season until now.

“We know that when we work well and have everything we need, we’re ready to fight with them. We have to stay calm. I already knew that, because last year both Japan and Indonesia were a bit of a struggle for me, so we have to stay patient, and that’s it.

“Tomorrow, we’ll salvage the weekend a bit, with as many points as possible. From then on, in Indonesia, we’ll try to start with a little more intensity.”

Marquez can spoil the crowning ceremony of his brother this weekend in Japan if he outscores the factory Ducati rider by six points in Sunday’s Grand Prix. The title is almost certainly heading towards Marc Marquez, but the site where he will be crowned is yet to be known.

READ MORE: Alex Marquez will wish he’d never accepted a factory bike from Ducati after ‘very lucky’ break

How can Francesco Bagnaia beat Alex Marquez to second place in the 2025 MotoGP standings?

There is still a maximum of 210 points up for grabs in the remaining races of the season, and with the Gresini rider currently leading Bagnaia by 81 points, the Italian rider will need to secure some perfect weekends in order to leapfrog his rival in the standings.

As previously mentioned by Marquez, Bagnaia can eye the upcoming round in Indonesia as a track where he can eat into the deficit, as well as Sunday’s Grand Prix at Motegi, where he is starting from pole position.

The 28-year-old previously won at the Mandalika-based circuit during his second MotoGP title-winning campaign in 2023.

With his newfound confidence from the victory in the Sprint, Bagnaia will be hoping to round out the season on a high note in hopes of securing an extension to his current Ducati contract that expires at the end of next year.