Francesco Bagnaia may now have realised that Marc Marquez was right all along about Ducati’s 2025 bike

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Francesco Bagnaia has been in conflict with his Ducati bike all season, while teammate Marc Marquez has dominated with ease.

The Spaniard adapted seamlessly to the GP25, having raced on the GP23 the year before, and won the 2025 title at Motegi with 25 wins, including Sprints. Meanwhile, Bagnaia has been largely uncompetitive.

The GP25 exposed a ‘weak point’ from Bagnaia as the new machine does not suit his riding style. He has not found the right balance on the bike all year, with the Italian demanding changes from Ducati.

Bagnaia gave Ducati an ‘ultimatum’ to give him GP24 parts – he won 11 races with the bike last season. Eventually, the Borgo Panigale outfit obliged, and after testing last year’s parts at Misano, he claimed a double victory at Motegi.

However, with the same setup, he was running last for much of the weekends at Mandalika and Phillip Island, crashing out in both. He was desperate to find a better feeling at the Malaysian Grand Prix, and he may have found it thanks to Marquez.

Francesco Bagnaia raced with a ‘Marc Marquez-style bike’ at Sepang – his teammate was right about the GP25

At Sepang, Ducati planned to give Bagnaia ‘his Desmosedici’. In other words, a more structured version of the bike he had at Motegi.

In a report from La Gazzetta dello Sport, the Italian was ‘using a Marc Marquez-style bike’ during the weekend. Ducati reverted back to the setup he originally had during the pre-season test over the winter, and it worked a treat.

Bagnaia took pole position and won the Sprint race. He looked on course to win the Grand Prix on Sunday, but he fell back before a rear tyre puncture forced him to retire for a third consecutive race.

Bagnaia was heartbroken after his DNF, but there were positives to take, notably the setup of his bike, which was ‘identified at the start of the season’ by Marquez. Clearly, based on his dramatic improvements over the weekend, that setup is the way to go for him and Ducati.

It proved that Marquez was right about the GP25 and how to extract the most from the bike. Moving forward, this needs to be ‘pursued and developed with the utmost perseverance, consistency, and dedication’ to improve Bagnaia’s form.

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

How will Francesco Bagnaia fare with Nicolo Bulega as his Ducati teammate?

Bagnaia’s improved performance at Sepang will be delightful news for Ducati. Ultimately, he is now the team’s reference, with Marquez ruled out injured for the rest of the season.

Test rider Michele Pirro stood in for the Spaniard at Phillip Island and Sepang and scored no points, as expected. For the final two races of the season at Portimao and Valencia, Ducati will run with the rider they initially planned to replace Marquez.

WSBK runner-up Nicolo Bulega will make his MotoGP debut this weekend at the Portuguese Grand Prix. He will get his first taste of the premier class, having tested Ducati’s bike at Jerez in preparation.

Bulega was miles off Bagnaia’s pace, but that is to be expected due to differing track conditions and the fact that the former had never ridden a MotoGP bike before. It is an opportunity for the latter to stamp his authority and end the season strongly, especially with his new findings from Marquez’s setup.