Dominant Ducati unleash deposed MotoGP kings Marquez and Bagnaia
MNP – Marc Marquez, six times champion, has joined double champion Francesco ‘Pecco’ Bagnaia in the Ducati factory-team pit.
The question is whether that high-octane mix will prove too combustible.
“If you put two roosters in the same pen at 22 or 25 years old, it’s bad. It’s a bomb. But he’s 27 and I’m 32,” Marquez told Spanish television, in response to one in a string of chemistry questions he, Bagnaia and Ducati bosses have faced.
Ducati, with eight bikes on the grid, dominated last season. They won 19 of 20 grand prix, and 17 of 20 sprints. Their misses all came in the first six races, when the other Italian marque, Aprilia, was briefly competitive.
Bagnaia, on a Ducati factory bike, won 11 times on a Sunday, but missed a third straight title, by 10 points to Jorge Martin, also on a 2024 Ducati with Pramac, even though the Spaniard won just three main races.
Marquez, healthy again after a long recovery from a crash in 2020, and competitive again on a Ducati with Gresini, won three races and finished third.
Claudio Domenicali, Ducati’s CEO, embraces his team’s status as overwhelming favourites.
“It is much better to start from a good base than start as an outsider,” he said.
