Marc Marquez, Francesco Bagnaia reveal most influential team-mates

All eyes will be on the Ducati Lenovo ‘dream team’ in MotoGP this season, when the factory’s double champion Francesco Bagnaia is paired with six-time Honda title winner Marc Marquez.

Some, such as Luca Marini, believe the rivalry will raise both to new levels.

“With Pecco and Marc together in the same team, they will push each other to improve themselves,” Marini told Crash.net. “If Aprilia and KTM are not able to reach the level of Ducati, we could see just the two of them fighting for victory in every race.”

But which team-mates did Bagnaia and Marquez learn the most from in the past?

Bagnaia picked out future title rival and 2024 champion Jorge Martin, plus his first MotoGP team-mate Jack Miller.

“The first time I understood something [from a team-mate] was in Moto3, when Jorge Martin arrived. The first test was wet and he was so fast, and following him I learned a lot of things in the wet,” Bagnaia said.

“Then in MotoGP we have to speak about Jack Miller, that together we did an incredible job in terms of atmosphere inside the box, inside the garage.”

Bagnaia joined Miller at Pramac for his rookie 2019 MotoGP season. The pair spent four years together, both being promoted to the factory Ducati team for 2021 and 2022.

“I think we both did an amazing job to create what Ducati is right now,” Bagnaia added.

Miller moved to KTM after being replaced by Enea Bastianini, with Marquez now taking over from the Italian for 2025.

Marquez had the same team-mate at Repsol Honda from his title-winning 2013 MotoGP debut until the end of 2018: Dani Pedrosa.

“Of course for me, the team-mate I learned more from was Dani Pedrosa," Marquez said.

"That was a master class in every session, when you arrive in MotoGP and have a team-mate like Dani Pedrosa.

“It was amazing to understand. I learned a lot.”

Marquez also highlighted some similarities between joining Repsol Honda alongside Pedrosa and his new challenge next to Bagnaia at Ducati Lenovo.

“It's not the same situation, but a bit similar,” Marquez said. 

“I arrive in a box where there is a rider that won two world championships, that is super fast, that only rode a Ducati, so he knows very well how to fix every problem.”

Marquez added: “As we see, many times on a Friday, Pecco is far [away], but then from one practice to another, he's the fastest rider on the race track. So I will try to learn from him, because he has a lot of experience with a Ducati bike.”

Bagnaia intends to learn how Marquez makes the best of difficult situations.

“About Marc, it's absolutely a new thing… But what I think and I know is that with a rider like him - a champion with eight world titles, winning the title also in difficult situations, not having the best bike - it's absolutely a motivation for me, trying also to learn to be competitive when things are not ideal.”