Marc Marquez believes he will continue to enjoy a harmonious relationship with Francesco Bagnaia after joining him at the factory Ducati team in MotoGP this year.
Marquez’s move to the Italian marque alongside two-time champion Bagnaia has created the kind of all-star line-up not seen in MotoGP since Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo teamed up at Yamaha in the early-to-mid 2010s.
Ducati is so far not worried about the potential ramifications of having two world champions in the same garage, with team boss Davide Tardozzi brushing aside any concerns about an internal rivalry that could disrupt the harmony at Borgo Panigale.
Marquez also doesn’t think there will be any fallout between him and Bagnaia during a season in which the two are expected to duel for the title, with Ducati set to maintain its lead over other manufacturers after a dominant 2024 campaign.
The Spaniard insists that while Bagnaia is a “fighter” and will put on a tough fight against him, both are old and mature enough to work together as a team.
“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,” the six-time MotoGP champion said on Spanish TV show El Hormiguero.
“Pecco is a gentleman, he's calm. We have worked together during the preseason, we have shared many conversations to get the best possible bike.
“But we both know that, from the first race to the last, everyone will look after their own interests on the track. But then off the track? I know the difference.
“When I was 20-years-old, I couldn't tell the difference. It was a matter of life and death. When I was 20, it was like now, but a bit worse. But this way, there is unity within the team.
“Pecco is a gentleman, he never raises his voice or anything. But then, on the track, he is the fighter. If he has to put the bike in, as he has to, he's going to put it in. But that's how he is.”
Marquez stated that he had his eyes on joining the factory Ducati team ever since he made the bold decision to leave Honda at the end of the 2023 season, with a year still left on his contract.
He now feels he finally has a bike with which he can add to the six premier class titles he achieved in the last decade and equal the tally of Rossi, his foe and former MotoGP rival.
“The decision to leave Honda was very difficult, not because of the salary, but because you have to make an honest decision like this selfishly, looking out for yourself,” he recalled of his move to Gresini in 2024.
“The most important thing was that I was leaving the team of my life, my friends, and Honda, a salary. But the priority was to answer to myself if I was still competitive.
“I join Gresini, I take a risk, because it's like an investment in your racing career. If I was competitive, things would happen.
“That year, I knew that contracts were coming to an end. And if you did well at Gresini, you had a chance to go to a factory team.
“But you have to expose yourself. For me, failure is not exposing yourself. If I fail, I will accept what they say. But for me, failure is not trying.
“I tried, I did well, and now I'm in the best team, the one I wanted, with the best bike, and it's in my hands if I can win another title.”
