Marc Marquez’s battle with Francesco Bagnaia was portrayed by some as an indirect continuation of his rivalry with Valentino Rossi. Bagnaia is, after all, the star graduate of the VR46 Academy.
Marquez and Rossi still haven’t made peace, three and a half years after the Doctor’s retirement. The Spaniard is now trying to dislodge him as the most successful rider of the MotoGP era.
It was thought that Rossi could wage a proxy war on Marquez through Bagnaia. There were even suggestions that he could brief the Italian media against the Ant of Cervera.
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But the intra-team rivalry at Ducati hasn’t really developed. Marquez entered the summer break 168 points clear of Bagnaia at the top of the standings, and he’s beaten him 29 times in competitive sessions.
Francesco Bagnaia sounds like Valentino Rossi talking about Casey Stoner
Speaking on the Paddock Pass podcast, journalist David Emmett drew a parallel between Bagnaia and Ducati-era Rossi. The Italian spent two years with the Borgo Panigale manufacturer (2011 and 2012).
While teammate Casey Stoner won the championship in the first of those seasons, Rossi only finished seventh, failing to win a race and scoring only one podium. Stoner also outscored him by nearly 100 points in 2012.
According to Emmett, Rossi always used to explain that he couldn’t emulate Stoner’s ‘very special’ riding style. Bagnaia has been making statements about Marquez.
Indeed, the two-time world champion admitted in May that Marquez could ‘ride a tractor and be strong’, whereas he needs to have confidence in the front end to show his full potential. Bagnaia has only managed one pole position and one victory in the first 12 races.
“Pecco Bagnaia really reminds me of Valentino Rossi when he went to Ducati,” Emmett explained. “We used to go into the Ducati hospitality for the media debriefs every time and ask, ‘Look, Casey was winning on this bike, why can’t you?’.
“Valentino, to his credit, never actually snapped at us. He always said the same thing – Casey rode this bike in a very special way, and I can’t ride it like that.
“Listening to Pecco saying ‘I can’t brake, I don’t feel comfortable, I don’t understand why, Marc can do it, I can’t, it’s reminiscent of that sort of issue.”
How Marc Marquez is ramming his Ducati dominance down Francesco Bagnaia’s ‘throat’
Ducati pursued their GP25 concept thanks to Marquez, who offered more positive feedback than Bagnaia during testing. The latter would probably have been more inclined to stick with last year’s bike.
Bagnaia finished a close second to Jorge Martin in the 2024 championship. Alex Marquez has been rapid on the older spec this season and sits between the two factory riders in the standings.
Mat Oxley feels sorry for Bagnaia, who has symbolically surrendered ownership of the team. Marquez has celebrated eight wins this year, including the last five on the bounce.
When celebrating with his Ducati mechanics on the other side of the garage, he’s accidentally been ramming his success down Bagnaia’s ‘throat’. The past six months have been the ultimate test of the 28-year-old’s resilience.