Marco Bezzecchi
Francesco Bagnaia couldn’t work out Ducati’s motivation for signing Marc Marquez, according to a report.
Bagnaia and Marquez are just starting their second season as teammates, but it’s likely to be the last. The Spaniard stepped up to the factory squad for 2025 after spending a year at satellite team Gresini.
Bagnaia has been riding Ducati bikes for his whole MotoGP career and has raced in red since 2021. After being beaten rather brutally by Marquez last year, he lost some of the team’s confidence.
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The expectation is that Bagnaia will sign for Aprilia on a long-term deal, with Pedro Acosta arriving at Borgo Panigale to partner Marquez.
Francesco Bagnaia was surprised by Ducati recruiting Marquez
According to Gazzetta dello Sport, Bagnaia would have ‘gladly avoided’ a direct head-to-head with Marquez, by far the most successful rider on the grid.
The Italian won the world title in 2022 and 2023 but Marquez is one of the sport’s all-time greats and has never been outscored by a teammate while fully fit.
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What’s more, Bagnaia ‘never really understood’ why he had to face the #93. Ducati dropped Enea Bastianini at the end of 2024 to facilitate the move.
While Jorge Martin won the world title at satellite team Pramac that year, Ducati easily won the teams’ and constructors’ championships. They could have promoted Martin but were willing to lose him entirely to sign Marquez.
Ducati signed Marc Marquez in an act of self-defence
Bastianini says Ducati’s move for Marquez seemed ‘very strange’ at the time given Martin’s form.
But after Marquez crushed the field in the 2025 championship, ‘you can’t say anything’ to decision-maker Luigi Dall’Igna.
Even Marquez couldn’t compete on the Honda, but Ducati knew that, if he found a semi-competitive bike elsewhere, he would be the biggest threat to their dynasty. With him, they could be almost invincible.
Sylvain Guintoli says Aprilia will have a ‘dream team’ with Bagnaia and Bezzecchi, but a Marquez/Acosta line-up arguably makes Ducati even stronger.
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