Marc Marquez confirms his No 1 goal for Sepang test

Marc Marquez says his main goal in the Sepang MotoGP pre-season test is “to try to learn from” factory Ducati team-mate Francesco Bagnaia.

After successfully rebuilding his stalled career at the Gresini squad last year, Marquez returns to factory status in 2025 with the works Ducati team alongside double premier class champion Bagnaia.

While all talk over the winter has been about the potential fallout between the pair, Marquez says Bagnaia will remain his reference in pre-season testing because “he knows many things”.

“Yeah, of course looking forward to starting the pre-season, especially because when you are in a factory team and you see the schedule you have a lot of things to try, small things, big things,” he said.

“But important job ahead here in the Malaysia test, especially because we need to choose the correct way, trying to work together with Pecco and all the team to find the best base.

“In nine days we will have five days of testing, so we need to be focused.

“At the moment I have the experience of only one test in Barcelona and we have, more or less, the same comments.

“This was important and it was easier for the engineers. But from that point, Ducati had all the facilities to try to adapt the bike to all the riders.

“But, it’s a bike that is working well and when a bike is working well, then it is in your hands.

“At the moment, I want to understand well the situation, try to learn from Pecco because he has a lot of years inside this garage, he knows many things.

“And from that point be step by step faster on the race track.”

Marc Marquez: "I will feel better after the first race"

Bagnaia has been a Ducati rider all of his MotoGP career and is now statistically its most successful rider ever.

Marquez has had limited time with his new Ducati team, but says at the team launch last month in Italy he has been able to get to know his crew better.

“Yeah, of course I feel well but I will feel better after the first test and I will feel better after the first race because I try to understand the way that they are working,” he said of the team dynamic.

“It’s a bit different and I must adapt to that work.

“From that point, I start to know the people because in Madonna di Campiglio I know the big bosses more and now I start to know the mechanics more, especially Marco Rigamonti, who will be my chief engineer.

“So, yeah, from that point try to understand well what we need to be fast on the race track. That is the most important thing.”