Marquez: 2025 MotoGP title battle will not be between simply me and Bagnaia

Marc Marquez doesn’t assume the 2025 MotoGP season might be a duopoly between him and Ducati team-mate Francesco Bagnaia, regardless of the favored perception.

Ducati is predicted to dominate MotoGP till the top of the present guidelines cycle on the again of its stellar 2024 season, through which it gained 19 out of the 20 grands prix.

However whereas its victories have been cut up between 4 riders this yr, the departures of Jorge Martin and Enea Bastianini have left new signing Marquez and two-time champion Bagnaia as the one A-listers in its line-up.

This has led to hypothesis that the 2 might be engaged in their very own battle for the championship subsequent yr, with a problem unlikely to materialise from inside Ducati or elsewhere on the grid.

Nevertheless, six-time MotoGP champion Marquez has refuted these ideas, saying there’s a robust likelihood that different riders may also function within the 2025 title battle.

“It will not simply be a championship between Pecco and me,” he mentioned. “It is not simply Ducati that’s racing, however we now have to see the evolution of the opposite manufacturers; there’s additionally Jorge Martin with Aprilia, who has gained races, and Pedro Acosta with KTM who has additionally been shut. 

“We are going to attempt to give 100%, however I’m conscious that it will likely be very tough, and that every little thing must be excellent to win a world championship.”

Marc Marquez, Ducati Crew

Photograph by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Photographs

Former Honda rider Marquez has signed a multi-year contract with Ducati from 2025 that may see him get entry to the very best bike on the grid for the primary time in over 5 years.

Given his dominant streak in mid-to-late 2010s that earned him a spot amongst MotoGP’s best, many anticipate him to stroll away with the title subsequent yr.

However the Spaniard, who has made it clear he gained’t ever be capable of return to his pre-2020 kind after his career-altering arm harm, mentioned it wouldn’t be so easy to outperform Bagnaia in the identical staff in 2025.

“They are saying that with the official Ducati I’ll sweep [the title],” he mentioned. “We’re in MotoGP, the very best championship, the place the very best riders are, the place my team-mate has gained 11 races this yr, which is quite a bit. 

“The tendency is to have a look at how a lot I’ve gained, however in sport, you reside within the current. Yearly younger folks take part.”

In 2025, Marquez will arrive at a staff constructed round Bagnaia, who helped Ducati clinch its first title in MotoGP since Casey Stoner’s success in 2007.

This may be a giant change for him from the surroundings he loved at Honda, the place he was the highest canine and acquired beneficial therapy when it comes to the path the Japanese producer took with the event of the bike.

Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Crew, Marc Marquez, Gresini Racing

Photograph by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Photographs

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Requested about his ideas on becoming a member of Bagnaia, he mentioned: “It is a scenario I’ve by no means skilled earlier than, arriving at a field the place there’s a standing, and the one who has the main voice is Pecco. 

“He’s the one who has gained two titles [for Ducati] and he have to be the one who units the tone at the start of the season and in pre-season. We are going to work to get nearer to him, however he’s the reference. 

“Now, I really feel that it’s time to maintain a low profile. We are going to attempt to work to battle for the title. However I all the time attempt to be life like. You need to perceive the philosophy of the official Ducati team, and arrive on the field of a rider who’s successful quite a bit. And if the title will be stolen from him, it will likely be stolen.”