Pecco Bagnaia “forced” Marc Marquez’s mistake theory is posed

Kevin Schwantz questioned whether the cause of Marc Marquez’s COTA crash was the pressure being piled on by Pecco Bagnaia.

Bagnaia won the Americas MotoGP in Texas after Marquez, at one of his favourite circuits, fell out of the lead.

His factory Ducati teammate took advantage to land his first major blow in the championship battle.

“As a two-time champion, Pecco knew he would find the confidence and the pace,” racing legend Schwantz analysed.

“He just wasn’t comfortable or confident yet.

“They seem to have made some adjustments. I have noticed the Ducati isn’t finishing the corner like it needs to. It looks like he’s having to drive the thing out to the paint and finish the turn, instead of, at the apex having the turn finished then drive the bike to the edge of the track.

“It looked like the bike was doing more what he wanted it to [in America].

“He had enough speed to get past Alex Marquez. Maybe that pressure was felt by Marc.

“Pecco didn’t look noticeably not well rested, but I’m sure the nights have been sleepless.

“The one person you don’t want to be beaten by is your teammate. To put that behind you, and ride a race to be proud of, and feel like maybe you forced the leader into an issue…

“He’ll be ready to go to Qatar, then Europe, and get onto this championship.”

The fourth round of the 2025 MotoGP championship is next week in Qatar, a track which Bagnaia typically enjoys.

Alex Marquez, who has finished P2 in three sprints and three grands prix, leads the championship. He is one point ahead of Marc, and 12 ahead of Bagnaia.

Marc Marquez tipped to overcome first error of 2025

Marquez endured his first two crashes on the factory Ducati in 2025 in Texas, culminating in falling out of the lead of the grand prix.

He took responsibility for making an error, apologising to his team.

Schwantz believes that Marquez can shake off his cobwebs of that error because he knows why it happened.

“It’s always there to affect you, just a little bit,” Schwantz said.

“The stronger the rider - mentally and physically - the less it will affect him. We’ve seen how strong Marc is.

“When you know what caused it, that you made a mistake, you went onto a portion of the track that was slicker than the asphalt, then you know there is something to blame for it.

“It’s when a crash happens that you’re not 100% certain of what went on that really messes with your mind.

“But Marc is pretty clear on what caused that.

“I’m sure he’ll come out swinging, like he always does.”