EXCLUSIVE: Marc Marquez, Pecco Bagnaia could “fight for victory in every race”
“Best bike in history, for sure...”
Beaten in just one of last year’s 20 MotoGP races, locking out the Sunday podium on 14 occasions, a perfect top-eight sweep in the Buriram Sprint and wrapping up a fifth constructors’ crown and third riders’ title in a row.
Those were just some of the statistics from Ducati’s record breaking 2024 campaign.
“Best bike in history, for sure. They made a fantastic job,” Luca Marini, who spent his opening three MotoGP seasons on a Ducati at VR46, told Crash.net.
But despite dropping from eight to six bikes for 2025 and losing reigning champion Jorge Martin to Aprilia, Marini warned that the new factory line-up of Francesco Bagnaia and Marc Marquez could lead to even greater Ducati dominance.
Asked if he thought 2024 was the peak of Ducati’s MotoGP supremacy, factory Honda rider Marini replied:
“I don't think so. With Pecco and Marc together in the same team, they will push each other to improve themselves.
“As Honda, we will not be able to fight with [Ducati] next year. We have to wait. So our target is to beat the other manufacturers.
“But if Aprilia and KTM are not able to reach the level of Ducati we could see just the two of them [Bagnaia and Marquez] fighting for victory every race.
“So maybe the peak has not yet arrived…”
Ducati’s 2024 success eclipsed even Honda’s dominance of the 2003 MotoGP campaign when the RC211V won 15 of the 16 rounds, led by nine wins for Marini’s brother Valentino Rossi.
The only other winner that year was Loris Capirossi, who handed Ducati its first MotoGP victory at Catalunya.
Honda perfect in 1997
However, looking further back into the 500cc era, Honda completed a perfect sweep of all 15 grands prix victories in 1997.
Might the likes of Bagnaia, Marquez and factory-backed Fabio di Giannantonio be able to match that unbeaten feat in 2025?
COTA was the lone grand prix where the Desmosedicis were defeated last season, with Aprilia’s Maverick Vinales winning in Texas from KTM’s Pedro Acosta.
Enea Bastianini was third for Ducati but Marc Marquez had fallen moments after taking the lead, due to a brake issue.
Last year's Sprints saw Ducati beaten three times, again by Aprilia, with two Saturday wins by Vinales and one for Aleix Espargaro.
Vinales has switched to Tech3 KTM with Espargaro retiring from full-time competition to become a HRC test rider.
Marini's former VR46 team-mate and triple MotoGP race winner Marco Bezzecchi will join Martin in the new Aprilia line-up, with Acosta stepping up to the factory KTM team alongside Brad Binder.
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
