Gresini rider Alex Marquez emerged as a surprise title threat at the start of the 2025 MotoGP season, and he even ranks ahead of factory Ducati pilot Francesco Bagnaia.
The 29-year-old had never proven himself to be a title contender during his first five seasons in the premier class. But Ducati providing Marquez with the Desmosedici GP24 has seen the Gresini racer regularly run second-best to his brother, Marc, and ahead of Bagnaia this term.
Marquez penned his first double no-score of the 2025 MotoGP season at the Czech GP prior to the summer break. Brno also saw him fail to reach either the Sprint or Grand Prix podium for the first time this year. But he sits second in the standings and 48 points clear of Bagnaia.
Qualifying in P8 left the Spaniard slightly desperate at times to gain places in the Brno Sprint and Czech GP. Marquez tangled with his teammate, Fermin Aldeguer, en route to 17th in the Brno Sprint. Also, Marquez took Joan Mir out of the Czech GP with a naive lunge at Turn 12.
Photo by Gold & Goose Photography/Getty ImagesLuigi Dall’Igna sees ‘significant’ scope for Gresini to maximise Alex Marquez’s Ducati GP24
Marquez will serve a long-lap penalty in this Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix as his penalty for taking Mir out of the Czech GP. His ambitions have even shifted away from challenging Marc Marquez for the 2025 title, with Alex Marquez focused on beating Bagnaia for second place.
Catching and surpassing the younger Marquez brother is also Bagnaia’s priority, having thus far struggled to adjust to the GP25 and fight 32-year-old Marc on equal machinery. But Alex having a GP24 could be very beneficial, despite not getting the bonus of upgrades this term.
READ MORE: Everything to know about Alex Marquez from net worth to career stats
Ducati general manager Luigi Dall’Igna is clear that there is still ‘significant’ scope for Gresini to maximise the potential of Marquez’s GP24, with which Jorge Martin beat Bagnaia for the 2024 riders’ title. So, the marker that Bagnaia is chasing can move further and further away.
Dall’Igna has told SPEEDWEEK: “Just because there are no new parts doesn’t mean you can’t develop a bike further. The GP24 has so many possibilities that significant steps are possible just through the set-up. The learning never stops with the GP24.”
Alex Marquez can continue to cause Francesco Bagnaia problems in the 2025 season
Photo by Gold & Goose Photography/Getty Images
Gresini unlocking the greater potential of the Ducati GP24 that Dall’Igna sees could even see Marquez continue to cause Bagnaia problems in the 2025 MotoGP season. Bagnaia has thus far only beaten Marquez in two of the eight Grands Prix they have both finished this season.
READ MORE: Everything to know about Francesco Bagnaia from net worth to race number
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Marquez may have also finished in front of Bagnaia during the Qatar Grand Prix to then hold an 8-4 overall Grand Prix head-to-head record in 2025 without crashing into VR46’s Fabio Di Giannantonio chasing third place. The Gresini star recovered to P6 after his long-lap penalty.
A bit more patience during his fight with KTM rival Pedro Acosta for P4 might have also seen Marquez catch Bagnaia during the Dutch Grand Prix. Instead, Marquez collided with Acosta at Assen and fractured the second metacarpal in his left hand, which even required surgery.