Pecco Bagnaia warned “magic feeling doesn’t exist” in uphill Marc Marquez battle

Pecco Bagnaia has been warned that the “magic feeling” he craves to battle Marc Marquez doesn’t exist.

Bagnaia is desperately hoping to arrest his inferiority to factory Ducati teammate Marquez at this weekend’s Americas MotoGP in Texas.

Unfortunately for Bagnaia, the circuit is among the favourites of the mighty Marquez.

In Bagnaia’s strife he appeared to hint about returning to a 2024 spec, but this week has clarified those comments, insisting he is only chasing the same feeling as last year, not the same bike.

Uncertainty has been picked up in Bagnaia’s predicament.

“It’s really clear to see - he’s looking for the feeling that he had last year,” TNT Sports’ Neil Hodgson commented in Texas.

“But he’s riding to that limit now. The problem is that his teammate is 0.3s faster.

“So this magical feeling doesn’t exist. The reality is he’s got the feeling now, but he needs to find 0.3s.

“He can’t reach it, so now he’s questioning himself. This is what happens when you get a faster teammate. It’s the psychology of racing.”

Sylvain Guintoli said about Bagnaia: “He seems like his riding is off. Because he’s under pressure, because he’s got a super fast teammate and Alex Marquez is putting pressure on.

“That will definitely be a lot of pressure. If you’re in the factory team and you are beaten by your teammate you can step back, learn, try to come back.

“But when you get beaten by a satellite rider? It’s a different story. That’s really not good for the ego or the self-confidence.

“But Pecco never starts seasons well. He will come strong in Qatar and in Europe.

“For now? It’s damaged limitations.”

Pecco Bagnaia told 'Marc Marquez is special'

Marquez has sensationally won the first four races of 2025 across the first two rounds in Thailand and Argentina.

He has a huge chance to add further glory in Texas, a venue where he has previously dominated in his Honda heyday.

His adaptation to a bike which Bagnaia should have more experience of has been cited as key battleground in the psychological warfare.

“Marc was racing the ‘23 Ducati last year, and we knew the ‘24 was a big step in the right direction,” Hodgson explained.

“The ‘25 is not a big step. So essentially they are riding the ‘24. That’s Pecco’s bike, which Pecco rode last year, he has all the information, while Marc was riding the ‘23.

“Unfortunately, the reality is, with what we’ve learned over the years, is that [Marquez] is special.

“What do you do? Don’t panic, don’t reinvent the wheel.”