Marco Bezzecchi
Francesco Bagnaia has opened up on how he felt teaming up with Marc Marquez at the factory Ducati team amid the seven-time MotoGP world champion’s ongoing feud with his mentor, Valentino Rossi.
Francesco Bagnaia is currently the most successful rider to hail from Valentino Rossi’s VR46 Riders Academy, thanks to the two premier class world titles and 31 Grand Prix victories he has since claimed in MotoGP.
Who had the better racecraft, Valentino Rossi or Marc Marquez? Let us know why in the comments
Rossi often sparked controversy battling Marquez, like at Assen and Sepang in 2015
He was also one of the rider development programme’s very first recruits, joining the Tavullia-based academy in 2014, one year prior to the flash point that cooled the relationship between Rossi and Bagnaia’s current teammate, Marc Marquez.
Rossi believed Marquez was intentionally trying to dash his hopes of securing an eighth MotoGP world title, and things came to a head at the Malaysian Grand Prix in 2015, where the Italian appeared to kick out at his rival during a heated on-track battle.
The rivalry is one of the most explosive and controversial in MotoGP history, and the pair of premier class giants have rarely uttered a word to each other since. Still, that didn’t affect Bagnaia’s relationship with Marquez upon his arrival at Ducati in 2025.
Francesco Bagnaia says Marc Marquez and Valentino Rossi’s feud was ‘not my war’
In a video posted to MotoGP’s official social media channels, the departing factory Ducati rider was asked to react to a video in which Marquez was asked about Bagnaia’s “best characteristic”.
Do you agree with Rossi’s verdict on the Sepang clash with Marquez?
The nine-time Grand Prix motorcycle racing world champion was complimentary of his teammate of two years, saying, “For me, about Pecco, the best characteristic is that he’s super friendly and always honest.
“It’s one of his good things. The most important thing is that we have a very good relationship as teammates and we are very honest; this is the most important.”
In response to Marquez’s kind words, Bagnaia revealed how he welcomed the Spaniard to Ducati with open arms, despite his long-standing feud with the Italian’s mentor, which stems from the infamous events of the 2015 MotoGP season.
“It’s clear that after what happened in Marc’s career and growing up in the academy of Valentino, there were many opinions about our relationship in the garage,” Bagnaia responded. “But as I said many times, it was not my war.
- READ MORE: How Marc Marquez and Valentino Rossi became one of MotoGP’s most heated rivalries in history
“I was never into this kind of fight. So, as soon as Marc arrived at the factory team, I was completely open to meeting Marc and getting to know him better. We started to have a really great relationship from the first test.
“We started working a lot together and analysing things together. I tried to help Marc when he needed and he needed very little help, but many times I was struggling; he was always trying to help in a very positive way. Marc is a very smart rider, and we work very well together.”
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