Marco Bezzecchi
Ducati formed a MotoGP super team upon their acquisition of Marc Marquez ahead of last year’s campaign, and Francesco Bagnaia has shared how the Spaniard’s arrival has affected the ‘atmosphere’ at Borgo Panigale.
The 2025 MotoGP season proved to be Ducati’s most successful yet as they smashed their previous record of the most points scored by a constructor over the course of a single season.
Of course, the extra two race weekends aided their feat, but the dominance shown by Marc Marquez was also a sight to behold.
The Spaniard won 25 out of the 36 races he competed in across both formats, while Ducati teammate Francesco Bagnaia struggled immensely.
Many MotoGP fans thought an intra-team battle between Bagnaia and Marquez would ensue at the beginning of the season, but the Italian rider was unable to get anywhere near his counterpart in the majority of races.
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Francesco Bagnaia says his relationship with Marc Marquez at Ducati has been ‘excellent’
During a recent appearance on the Supernova podcast, Bagnaia was asked about the relationship he has with other riders on the MotoGP grid.
The two-time world champion offered an insight into the rapport that he shares with Marquez, and started by highlighting that you can’t be friends with everyone in the paddock.
He said, “So, we’re not all friends. Obviously, you like some riders more than others, but in general, I’ve always got on well with everyone.
“I’m not saying I’m friends with everyone, but I get on fairly well with everyone, and I haven’t had any major problems in the past.
“Certainly, when you put a driver with the charisma of Marc Marquez in the same pit, there are two possibilities: either you start arguing right away, or you manage to get along.
“I have to say that he had a fairly calm approach; he understood the dynamics of the team.
“The priority is to try to maintain a liveable atmosphere within the pit without causing trouble or arguing, and let’s say that we definitely got to know each other better this year, and the relationship has been excellent.”
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Marc Marquez became an unlikely ally for Francesco Bagnaia during his woeful term
Despite their rivalry as teammates for the best brand currently on the grid, fans weren’t able to witness sparks fly between the only two active riders who have more than one premier class world title to their name.
The main cause of that was due to #63’s regular pace deficit to his world-beating counterpart, and it actually emerged during the campaign that Marquez was helping Bagnaia to get out of his rut.
Marquez told Bagnaia to ‘reset’ at Misano ahead of the Grand Prix on Sunday, and after the Italian rider had a sub-par Sprint race on the day before.
Unfortunately, the advice didn’t aid Bagnaia’s resurgence. He crashed out of the race after just eight laps, but the following race weekend was of stark contrast.
The 29-year-old pulled off a perfect weekend at Motegi, taking pole position, the Sprint race win and Grand Prix victory in a display of his eternal skills.
Despite the turnaround, the following rounds saw him revert back to his past form, and Bagnaia ended the season with five consecutive retirements.
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