Marco Bezzecchi
Francesco Bagnaia’s difficult MotoGP campaign last year against Marc Marquez led many to theorise that Ducati favoured the Spaniard. However, the Italian rider has now put those claims to bed.
After it was announced that Marc Marquez would be pairing with Francesco Bagnaia at the factory Ducati team, no one quite expected the Spaniard to be quite as dominant as he turned out to be.
As Marquez won everything in sight, Bagnaia languished as he just couldn’t get to grips with the exact same calibre of machinery.
It led many to believe that Ducati chief Luigi Dall’Igna had already placed Marquez as the lead rider for the Italian constructor, and simply wanted someone of the 32-year-old’s stature to become a title-winner with them.
Marquez grew tired of the favouritism claims and furiously addressed them following his title-clinching ride at the Japanese Grand Prix last year.
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During a recent appearance on the Supernova podcast, Bagnaia was asked about the possibility of a MotoGP bike being catered more towards one rider than the other within the confines of a brand.
#63 gave Honda’s past infatuation with his current teammate as an example, answering, “Absolutely yes. It’s more about a rider’s style.
“Let’s say, for example, Marc Marquez with Honda did this kind of thing there, circling all the work on Marquez. By making him the only one capable of riding that bike, he chose the specifications himself.
“They may have given him the same result, but they weren’t easy for everyone, and that’s what made the difference for him over the years.”
Bagnaia then compared Honda’s workflow to Ducati’s and, in turn, debunked any claims of the Italian constructor favouring the Spaniard over himself at Borgo Panigale.
The Italian added, “It’s a different way of working compared to what we do at Ducati, where you can follow two paths at the same time.
“There’s no obligation for everyone to have the same bike with the same parts. For example, this year we raced from mid-season onwards with two different fairing specifications.
“I liked it, I prefer the fact that the motorcycle handles better, and he preferred a motorcycle that loaded more on the rear, so we went on with two specifications.”
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Figures at Ducati think Francesco Bagnaia will return to his best in the upcoming MotoGP season
Before Bagnaia’s woeful campaign last year, he had challenged for the last four world titles and was successful on two of those occasions.
Ahead of the 2026 term, Davide Tardozzi is confident that Bagnaia can return to his past form, highlighting that he expects to see the ‘Pecco of 2024 again’.
Bagnaia’s first boss in MotoGP, Francesco Guidotti, shares a similar sentiment. The former Pramac chief believes that #63 has now ‘learnt his lesson’ in MotoGP after enduring such a difficult season on machinery that was worthy of winning a world title.
It seems like the upcoming campaign will be a decisive one for the future of Bagnaia at Ducati.
Leadership figures at the team have already had their heads turned by the impressive results of Pedro Acosta, so another difficult season could prove to be Bagnaia’s last year in red.
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