Dani Pedrosa expects Marc Marquez “to try and hit Pecco where it hurts”

Dani Pedrosa believes Marc Marquez will do everything in his power to disturb Francesco Bagnaia at Ducati when they become MotoGP teammates next season.

Marquez and Bagnaia will form one of the most talented and fearsome rider pairings in MotoGP history in 2025, but the dynamic between them is sure to cause havoc for Ducati.

Bagnaia has become Ducati’s star rider thanks to his two titles in the last two seasons, but with Marquez coming across from Gresini, things will undoubtedly change.

And Pedrosa, who was team-mate to Marquez for several years at Repsol Honda, believes Bagnaia’s comments have already shown that to be the case.

Pedrosa told DAZN: “Although he’s doing well at the moment he has a structure that’s made for him to get good results. He constantly repeats that no one has to change the status, that tranquillity he feels in the garage, the dynamics and style of work.

“He’s saying it actively and passively to a rider he knows is against him because we’ve already seen everything that happened just with him signing the contract… Yamaha with Pramac, Martin at Aprilia and so on.”

Marquez will have the chance to fight Bagnaia on equal machinery in 2025 as both riders will be riding the GP25.

In recent races the GP24 has proven to hold a clear advantage over the year-old-spec Ducati that Marquez is aboard.

With that factored in and Marquez traditionally dominating every team-mate he’s had, Pedrosa expects the eight-time world champion to try and do the same against Bagnaia.

Pedrosa added: “I think Marc will arrive and the first thing he’ll try to do is hit Pecco where it really hurts.”