All eyes might be on the Ducati Lenovo ‘dream staff’ in MotoGP this season, when the manufacturing facility’s double champion Francesco Bagnaia is paired with six-time Honda title winner Marc Marquez.
Some, equivalent to Luca Marini, imagine the rivalry will elevate each to new ranges.
“With Pecco and Marc collectively in the identical staff, they’ll push one another to enhance themselves,” Marini advised Crash.web. “If Aprilia and KTM will not be capable of attain the extent of Ducati, we may see simply the 2 of them combating for victory in each race.”
However which team-mates did Bagnaia and Marquez study essentially the most from up to now?
Bagnaia picked out future title rival and 2024 champion Jorge Martin, plus his first MotoGP team-mate Jack Miller.
“The primary time I understood one thing [from a team-mate] was in Moto3, when Jorge Martin arrived. The primary check was moist and he was so quick, and following him I discovered plenty of issues within the moist,” Bagnaia mentioned.
“Then in MotoGP we have now to discuss Jack Miller, that collectively we did an unbelievable job by way of ambiance contained in the field, contained in the storage.”
Jack Miller, Francesco Bagnaia
Bagnaia joined Miller at Pramac for his rookie 2019 MotoGP season. The pair spent 4 years collectively, each being promoted to the manufacturing facility Ducati staff for 2021 and 2022.
“I believe we each did a tremendous job to create what Ducati is true now,” Bagnaia added.
Miller moved to KTM after being changed by Enea Bastianini, with Marquez now taking up from the Italian for 2025.
Marquez had the identical team-mate at Repsol Honda from his title-winning 2013 MotoGP debut till the tip of 2018: Dani Pedrosa.
“In fact for me, the team-mate I discovered extra from was Dani Pedrosa,” Marquez mentioned.
“That was a grasp class in each session, once you arrive in MotoGP and have a team-mate like Dani Pedrosa.
“It was superb to grasp. I discovered rather a lot.”
Francesco Bagnaia, Marc Marquez
Marquez additionally highlighted some similarities between becoming a member of Repsol Honda alongside Pedrosa and his new problem subsequent to Bagnaia at Ducati Lenovo.
“It isn’t the identical state of affairs, however a bit comparable,” Marquez mentioned.
“I arrive in a field the place there’s a rider that received two world championships, that’s tremendous quick, that solely rode a Ducati, so he is aware of very effectively repair each drawback.”
Marquez added: “As we see, many occasions on a Friday, Pecco is much [away], however then from one apply to a different, he is the quickest rider on the race monitor. So I’ll attempt to study from him, as a result of he has plenty of expertise with a Ducati bike.”
Bagnaia intends to find out how Marquez makes the most effective of inauspicious conditions.
“About Marc, it is completely a brand new factor… However what I believe and I do know is that with a rider like him – a champion with eight world titles, successful the title additionally in troublesome conditions, not having the most effective bike – it is completely a motivation for me, making an attempt additionally to study to be aggressive when issues will not be very best.”
