Pecco Bagnaia warned that “a sign” is tempting Marc Marquez’s fate

Pecco Bagnaia has been warned that “a sign” hints at Marc Marquez’s mentality for the Argentina MotoGP.

The factory Ducati teammates - the favourites for the 2025 MotoGP title - arrive for the second round this weekend in vastly different form.

Marquez dominated the first round in Thailand with a pole position and two wins, while Bagnaia was forced to watch the newcomer to his garage dominate from afar.

Bagnaia must now tackle Argentina - a circuit which has historically favoured Marquez.

“It’s a circuit [Bagnaia] never had a podium at,” Crash’s Jordan Moreland explained.

“But he was second-place when he crashed out in the wet two years ago.

“It’s a circuit he can adapt to. Ducati certainly can - that’s something he has made clear. The Ducati is perfectly suited around this circuit.

“But he’s got work to do, to be fully comfortable.

“Look across at his teammate - his confidence is high, his form is great, he looks relaxed.

“I always think that if Marquez looks relaxed then it’s a sign that something is very, very good in his headspace.

“We’ve often seen in the past with Pecco that if something [goes badly on Friday] then he plays catch up.

“In Aragon last year he had bad starts on the grid because of the dirt.

“It won’t be like that this weekend. But he needs to make sure he’s in Q2.

“Maybe he will have the pace to take it to Marquez.

“But I think he should play the long game, knowing his teammate is strong.

“For Pecco, the podiums are there.”

The track conditions have been tipped to play a big role in Argentina.

Typically, they may be another string to Marquez’s bow.

“The riders have said the track is in a dirty condition which is often is in Argentina,” Jordan Moreland continued.

“Think back to dirty tracks and low grip situations, Aragon 2024 was very similar.

“Not to this extent - it was a unique situation in Aragon last year.

“Who thrived the most? Marc Marquez.

“Pecco said he walked the track and it wasn’t ideal. Both Marquez brothers said it was!

“Will we see a repeat of Thailand? I think so.

“His record here is strange. He won here in 2014, crashed out in 2015 after the collision with Valentino Rossi. He won in 2016, crashed out of the lead in 2017, then in 2018 had the chaotic race where he was off the rails.

“In 2019, the last time Marquez was at this circuit, he had a 3.3s lead after three laps.

“He would have won by 12s but he slowed down to celebrate on the last lap.

“It puts it into perspective of what he is capable of around here.”