Marc Marquez and Francesco Bagnaia will go head-to-head at Ducati this season. It could be an intra-squad battle for the MotoGP World Championship.
The question, then, is whether Luigi Dallegna can control the tension in the garage. The two riders don’t have to be friends, but they do have to work for the good of the team.
Last year in Bagnaya He battled Pramac rider George Martin for top honors. At the moment, they raced on the exclusive Desmosedici GP24 bikes Marquez It was a year after Gresini.
Although not a direct competitor, Marquez was still a reason for the title race. He stood on the podium 10 times and won three Grands Prix and one Sprint.
Bagnaia lost to Marquez by just 10 points and lost by at least 11 when he clashed with Marquez in the second race of the season, the Portuguese Grand Prix. They came together on lap 23 of 25.
Marquez made a scan on the inside, but the latter made contact with Bagnaia as he tried to pass again. The former finished 16th.
Full text Marc Marquez and Francesco Bagnaia debate the Portuguese Grand Prix
The stewards did not award a penalty for the incident, which Bagnaya felt was fair. Their conversation outside the stewards’ room is included in episode one of ‘There Can Only Be One’, the official documentary looking at the 2024 season.
Marquez accused Bagnaia of indifference, but the factory rider protested that he deserved more space. The tension between the two was palpable, though they remained respectful on the outside and shook hands afterwards.
The biggest frustration for Marquez is the lost points. But it was more important for Bagnaya considering he finished with 116 points in the final pace.
You can read the full transcript below.
Marquez: “Anytime, if you open the throttle, you know the contact is going to come on, and the outside is going to break.
Bagnaya: “It depends. It depends on how the driver on the outside reacts. Maybe you did that in your head. Now we look at the data. We all have the information. You know very well when Mark goes wide, there’s another rider on the inside. You know that.
Marquez: “So it’s my fault? I didn’t close the line.
Bagnaya: “It is neither your fault nor mine.
Marquez: “That’s the problem, it’s not your fault or mine, but we both collided.
Francesco Bagnaia could be played by Valentino Rossi in his rivalry with Marc Marquez.
Speaking in a joint interview with Marquez as part of the Ducati 2025 launch, Bagnaia rubbished the accident. “I could have won the championship by 11 points,” he said.
Bagnaya thought about his 2024 mistakes on the honeymoonBut this was not necessarily one of them. He made unforced errors elsewhere which gave Martin the advantage.
The 28-year-old has little interest in playing mind games, but he shouldn’t do so directly. There is a long-standing enmity between Valentino Rossi, his closest confidant, and his new team-mate.
If requested, Rossi registers his ‘press partners’ on Marquez. That could be just one theater with a serious battle. Ducati In the year 2025
Related topics
