Michele Pirro has seen the same ‘important’ quality in Marc Marquez that he saw in Casey Stoner

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Marc Marquez won the MotoGP championship in his first year with Ducati in 2025, to also join Casey Stoner as the only riders with titles for the Bologna Bullets and Honda.

Stoner became the first rider to ever win a premier class title with Ducati in 2007, when the Australian beat Honda racer Dani Pedrosa by 125 points. He later left Borgo Panigale to join the Japanese giant in 2011 and won the title, beating Jorge Lorenzo of Yamaha by 90 points.

Ducati had to wait until the 2022 MotoGP season to win the riders’ championship again with Francesco Bagnaia. But Marquez won the 2025 MotoGP title with five rounds to spare, as he gifted Ducati their fourth title in a row for his first crown since the 2019 title while at Honda.

Marquez is now a seven-time premier class champion, with only Giacomo Agostini ahead in the record books with his eight 500cc titles. The Spaniard has matched Valentino Rossi with seven titles, after the Italian won the final 500cc title in 2001 and six during the MotoGP era.

Michele Pirro thinks Marc Marquez has Casey Stoner’s ability to ‘adapt to any situation’

Marquez dominated MotoGP after joining Ducati in 2025, having scored 11 Grand Prix wins, 15 podiums, eight pole positions and 14 Sprint wins from the 18/22 rounds that he entered. Ducati lost their star in October when Marquez underwent season-ending shoulder surgery.

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But beyond Marquez’s results, his ability to “immediately” adapt to any situation impressed Ducati test rider Michele Pirro. The Italian also feels Marquez has the same ability as Stoner in that respect, and he now acts as a great example for young riders trying to reach MotoGP.

“It’s a characteristic that I found in Marquez and Stoner,” he told Gazzetta dello Sport. “They have the ability to adapt to any situation immediately. I think it’s important for young people, especially for those who want to get to the world championship.

“For example, I remember the difficulties in Argentina, with a dirty track and then wet from the rain. This ease of adaptation is a quality that can also help when you reach the MotoGP world championship.”

Marc Marquez adapted to Ducati’s difficult GP25 to dominate MotoGP in 2025

Pirro does not think Marquez made Ducati win in 2025, rather the other way round with the Borgo Panigale brand “reviving” the Spaniard’s career. The 32-year-old returned to the very top of MotoGP this year for his first title since sustaining a career-threatening injury in 2020.

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But Marquez had to adapt to the Ducati Desmosedici GP25, aboard which factory teammate Bagnaia and VR46 ace Fabio Di Giannantonio failed to produce anywhere near the same sort of results. Bagnaia even finished fifth in the riders’ standings, and Di Giannantonio was sixth.

Bagnaia and Di Giannantonio only earned 288 and 272 points through 22 rounds, compared to Marquez scoring 545 through his 18 entries. Bagnaia also only scored two wins and made eight Grand Prix podiums, while Di Giannantonio did not win a race and took four rostrums.

While Marquez excelled on the GP25, having jumped from the GP23 he rode for Gresini last term during his first campaign on a Desmosedici, Bagnaia failed to adapt to the Ducati GP25. Bagnaia often struggled with how the front end of the GP25 felt, particularly under braking.