Ex-Ducati boss gives not ‘easy to manage’ verdict on Marc Marquez-Pecco Bagnaia partnership

Marc Marquez’s arrival in the factory Ducati MotoGP team alongside Francesco Bagnaia creates a dream line-up for the Bologna brand, but not necessarily one that is easy to manage, according to Livio Suppo.

Suppo, who has been in his role as racing consultant at the Italtrans Moto2 team since the beginning of 2024, led Ducati’s MotoGP project until the end of 2010, overseeing its first premier class title with Casey Stoner in 2007.

The Italian thinks that, while both of Ducati’s factory riders in 2025 are amon the most competitive on the grid, the merging of two such strong competitors inside one team has the potential to create difficulties from the managerial side.

“They're two very strong riders, and it's going to depend a lot on the balance they can manage within the team,” Suppo told GPOne.com.

“A rider like Marc [Marquez] is also very charismatic, so they'll have to be good in Ducati in not letting Pecco [Francesco Bagnaia] perceive that they're in love with Marc.

“Bagnaia, for his part, has won two World Championships in a row and lost it this year despite winning much more than the World Champion. However, this means that he's very fast and, if he learns to make fewer mistakes, he's a very tough nut to crack.

“So, it won't be an easy team to manage, but definitely very strong."

Marquez won’t “kill the championship”

The meeting of Marquez and Bagnaia in the Ducati Lenovo Team garage next year will be the first time the two have been on machinery of similarly (in this case equally) competitive machinery.

Bagnaia’s first victory in MotoGP came in a head-to-head battle against Marquez at Aragon in 2021, but the timing of this race was at the beginning of both the Italian’s recent ascent with Ducati to dominating the championship, and of Honda’s descent to its current position at the foot of the MotoGP Constructors’ Championship.

Since then, Bagnaia has always had a technical advantage over Marquez, who finally left Honda for Gresini Ducati for the 2024 season, albeit on a year-old Desmosedici.

Marquez was the only rider to be able to consistently challenge for podium finishes on the Desmosedici GP23 this year, and the only one to win a race on the bike; while Bagnaia and eventual 2024 MotoGP Champion Jorge Martin dominated the season on the up-to-date GP24.

With Marquez finally back on a factory bike, the possibility emerges that he could return to the dominance he has displayed in the past. This, though, is not something Suppo — who was team manager at the Repsol Honda team during Marquez’s first four MotoGP titles — expects to see.

"I don't think he'll be able to kill the championship as he did, for example, in 2014, when he won the first ten races,” Suppo said.

“He'll definitely be one of the protagonists, as he has already been this year, where he made a big difference compared to the other GP23s.

“From there to dominating the World Championship, [it] won't be easy, with riders like Pecco who, despite not winning the title, still won 11 GPs.

“It'll be great for the fans, because I think that the fact that Ducati is going from eight to six bikes, losing two very strong riders like [Jorge] Martin and [Enea] Bastianini, will shuffle the cards a bit, so the other teams might also aim for the podium.

“What's certain is that, on paper, the first and second positions seem already decided. The official Ducati team could really dominate the season next year."