Veteran Dani Pedrosa was an important point of reference at the beginning of Marc Marquez’s MotoGP career: at Ducati, Francesco Bagnaia is taking on that role
A new chapter in Marc Marquez’s career begins in the 2025 MotoGP season. The now 31-year-old Spaniard is joining the Ducati factory team and has to get used to a new environment. At Ducati, Francesco Bagnaia has been the number one in recent years. That’s why Bagnaia is an important point of reference for Marquez.
The situation reminds Marquez of the 2013 MotoGP season, when he was a rookie for the Honda factory team. Dani Pedrosa was Honda’s clear team leader at the time. The year before, Pedrosa had only just lost the World Championship duel against Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo. Pedrosa was at the peak of his career.
Marquez, on the other hand, had to get used to many changes after moving up from Moto2 to MotoGP. “For me, Dani Pedrosa was of course the teammate from whom I learned the most. He was a role model every year and in every session,” recalls Marquez, adding, “I learned a lot from him.”
“Of course it’s not the same situation now, but it’s similar,” says Marquez, comparing the situation at Honda in 2013 with that at Ducati in 2025. “I come to a box where there is a rider who has won two world championships there, who is super fast and has only ridden Ducatis, so he knows very well how to handle them and how to solve any problem.”
What Francesco Bagnaia wants to learn from Marc Marquez
But Bagnaia also wants to use his new teammate as a guide. From Marquez, Bagnaia is trying to learn how to perform in left-hand corners in particular. Bagnaia already started this process last season, when Marquez first rode a Ducati. “Over the course of the season, I improved a little and will continue to work on it,” reveals Bagnaia.
What impresses Bagnaia most about Marquez is the fact that he is dealing with an eight-time world champion. Bagnaia is aware that even in his championship years, Marquez did not always have the best material at his disposal. “For me, this is an absolute motivation,” notes the Italian. ‘I try to learn to be competitive when things are not ideal,’ says Bagnaia.
Looking back at his former teammates in the MotoGP World Championship, Bagnaia recalls a situation in the smallest class: “Jorge Martin came and was really fast on the wet track during the first test. When I followed him, I learned a lot,” he describes a scene with the later MotoGP champion.
“Then we definitely have to talk about Jack Miller in MotoGP. Together we did an incredible job in terms of the atmosphere in the box,” Bagnaia fondly remembers the two years with Miller in the Ducati factory team. ‘I think we both worked hard to get Ducati to where it is now,’ says Bagnaia.
