Marco Bezzecchi
With there being just five rounds of racing left to decide the final championship standings after Marc Marquez’s clinching of the 2025 MotoGP title, Alex Marquez has identified where Francesco Bagnaia is “really fast” as the battle for second-place heats up.
Alex Marquez has occupied the second-place spot in the riders’ standings for the majority of the current campaign, offering the closest title challenge to his older brother’s utter dominance in the 2025 MotoGP season.
Francesco Bagnaia has struggled to replicate the results of Marc Marquez immensely, having recorded results that have seen him register just over half of the points tally that his factory Ducati counterpart has registered.
Bagnaia was perfect in the last round of racing at Motegi, showing glimpses of a potential comeback from the Italian rider, which was debunked by a poor showing so far in Indonesia.
READ MORE: MotoGP qualifying results as Marco Bezzecchi on pole and Marc Marquez ninth in Mandalika
Alex Marquez highlights how Francesco Bagnaia is “really fast” in the braking zones
In an interview with TNT Sports ahead of the Grand Prix of Indonesia, Marquez was asked if he is worried about his rival in the standings resurging for the final rounds of the season and causing a real threat to his second-place standing in the championship.
The Gresini rider replied, “First of all, I will say that in Japan, I was already waiting for that performance from him. This year, in races like Austria, like Austin where he won, and Hungary, he was not bad. In the braking areas, he’s always really fast. He performs so well in that point.
“So, I was already expecting that he was super fast [in Japan]. When I saw him really fast from Friday morning, when you approach a weekend like he approached there, and you are fast on the Friday, nothing can stop you. For sure, Pecco will be fast from now until the end.
He will be a tough opponent; we can’t forget that. We will fight for the second position with the two-time MotoGP world champion, and especially the official team of Ducati.
“So, it will not be easy, but we’ll put all our effort into keeping that second position, and, you know, we’ll try our best. So, just the points and the numbers will show.”
After the Italian rider’s 2025 woes seemed to have disappeared at the Japanese Grand Prix, Marquez stated that he wasn’t worried about Bagnaia’s revival after highlighting that he just needs to focus on his own races to have the best possible chance of keeping his place in P2.
READ MORE: MotoGP 2025 Indonesian Grand Prix schedule and how to watch after Marc Marquez clinched title
Marc Marquez said he won’t be interfering in Alex Marquez’s battle with Francesco Bagnaia for P2 in the MotoGP standings
Heading into the final five rounds of the season, the title-winner of the current campaign seemingly has a conflict of interest in who he wants to secure the second spot of the riders’ standings.
On one hand, Marquez has his younger brother to look out for in what would be the first sibling one-two in a MotoGP season for the first time, and on the other, he has his factory Ducati teammate to aid in hopes of clinching a one-two in the championship for the Borgo Panigale-based outfit.
Marquez has ruled out helping either rider in their quest to finish as the runner-up to him in the 2025 premier class standings, stating that his brother is good enough to clinch it on his own, whilst also noting that Bagnaia finishing second is more natural.
The younger Marquez has already benefited from the advice of Marc during their chats away from the race track.
The out-of-hours conversations could be crucial in determining whether the Gresini rider is able to hold on to his second-place spot if Bagnaia does manage to change his season around in the final few rounds of the season.
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