MotoGP News: Francesco Bagnaia Looks To Marc Marquez's Resilience For Championship Comeback

Saajan Jogia | Dec 16, 2024

Apr 13, 2024; Austin, TX, USA; Francesco Bagnaia (1) of Italy and Ducati Lenovo Team rides during the qualifying session for the MotoGP Grand Prix of the Americas at Circuit of The Americas. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Factory Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia has drawn inspiration from Marc Marquez's remarkable journey with Honda, where the Spaniard stunned the MotoGP world by winning the championship in his rookie season in 2013 and again in 2014. Although Jorge Lorenzo claimed the title in 2015, Marquez roared back to secure four consecutive championships from 2016 onward. Bagnaia sees parallels to his own situation and believes Marquez’s resilience sets an example for extending his championship streak next season.

Missing out on the 2015 championship proved to be a big moment for the Spaniard, strengthening his mental resolve. He harnessed this newfound composure to dominate in the following years, claiming four more titles and breaking multiple long-standing MotoGP records along the way.

Bagnaia finds himself in a similar situation, having won the 2022 and 2023 championships but lost the title to Pramac's Jorge Martin this year, who will take the number 1 tag to Aprilia next year. Drawing inspiration from Marquez's 2015 season, the Italian is looking at the 2025 season as an opportunity to push himself to the limit for the championship win. He said:

“I'm a very young rider and I think I still have eight-10 years in front of me.

“I will try to do my maximum. I will try to continue to be that fast [and] that strong. The most important thing is to increase [the number] in terms of championship titles and I will try [my best].

“I'm not considering [2024] like losing properly because I learned from my mistakes. We know that we lost the championship for the mistakes and this is something that I will improve. 

“Also, if we look at the start of Marc's [career], he won two titles in a row. Then he lost 2015 and then he won four in a row, so you never know. I will try to do my maximum and to achieve the maximum goal again.”

Just days after Bagnaia lost the championship to Martin, Red Bull's Max Verstappen clinched his fourth Formula 1 title. Bagnaia admitted it was difficult to watch Verstappen celebrate while he was still processing his own defeat. He explained:

“In these weeks the most difficult moment was when I saw Verstappen win the title, because it was his fourth.

“There it was a bit of a difficult moment, but there is nothing to complain about [Ducati’s season in MotoGP], because it was a fantastic day, which we must be proud of.”

"I simply thought about the fact that I too could have been a four-time world champion and it brought me back to the defeat a bit. 

“But I'm living it a bit like an opportunity: I know we lost, but I know why we lost it and that already makes the difference.”