Davide Tardozzi makes unexpected Ducati “opponent” call for MotoGP 2025

Ducati enters the 2025 MotoGP World Championship as the clear favourite to secure all three titles thanks to their recent technical dominance and their strong rider line-up.

Behind them, it’s unclear who will be the Bologna brand’s closest challenger. Recently it’s been either KTM, Aprilia, or both, but another manufacturer stood out in last week’s Sepang test: Yamaha.

Ducati Lenovo team manager Davide Tardozzi had been expecting the Iwata marque to progress since their acquisition of former Ducati engineer Max Bartolini at the beginning of 2024, but he was surprised at the speed that progress seems to have been made.

“I knew that they [Yamaha] were going to progress – I didn’t know so quick,” Tardozzi told MotoGP.com following last week’s Sepang test, in which Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo was third-fastest on the time sheets and also showed promising pace over longer runs.

“But, anyway, I know very well Massimo Bartolini, I was absolutely sure that he was able to let them make a big step ahead.

“Now I know that they are listening a lot to him and I think that they have a fantastic rider like Fabio [Quartararo], so for sure at the moment he is our opponent.”

Satellite challenge

There were a number of eye-catching Sprint simulations at last week’s test, not only from Quartararo but also Tardozzi’s own rider: Marc Marquez.

The Spaniard was able to lap in the high-1:57s for the first four laps of his simulation, before ending up in the low-1:58s at the end of it.

Only one rider was faster: Alex Marquez; and the two-time World Champion is not the only satellite Ducati rider Tardozzi has an eye on at this stage.

“I watched it with a smile,” Tardozzi said of the older Marquez’s Sprint simulation, “but in the end we have another Marquez that went very well because Alex did a fantastic simulation.

“But, in the end, it’s a test – when it’s race day it’s always another story, and I think that Marc [Marquez] and Pecco [Francesco Bagnaia] will be there to compete.

“I’m sure that also our satellite teams will be very competitive this year, too.

“I expect that Franky [Franco Morbidelli] and Alex [Marquez] will be very competitive from the first race, while I’m sorry for Diggia [Fabio Di Giannantonio] and we are waiting for him with open arms because he showed that he can be there, too,” the Ducati Lenovo team manager said.

“But we are waiting for mid-season or even earlier to see the new young rider because I think Fermin Aldeguer will surprise everybody.”