Pecco Bagnaia won't be lulled into false sense of security against Marc Marquez

Francesco Bagnaia is braced for another showdown with MotoGP title leaders Marc and Alex Marquez in Qatar, despite the #93 playing down his pre-event chances.

Fresh off a fortunate win in Austin, Bagnaia is aiming to build momentum at a track better suited to his riding style.

“It was great to have that kind of performance at a tough track for me,” Bagnaia said of COTA. “This is a better circuit, more suitable for my riding style. I like the track, I like the layout."

Bagnaia was handed victory in Austin when new team-mate Marc threw away a perfect sixth factory Ducati win in a row by crashing out of the lead.

“We know that we won because of Marc’s crash. He was gaining tenths every lap. My potential was to finish second. Then he crashed, and the only objective was to win,” Bagnaia said.

"We didn't finish our work"

Despite that stroke of fortune, Bagnaia feels Austin marked another step in his quest to regain the form that took him to eleven GP wins in 2024.

“In Austin we did a very good job, the step we made was good, but we didn't finish our work,” Bagnaia said.

“We have to continue in the same direction to take another step in braking and corner entry.”

"Marc and Alex are the two contenders"

Meanwhile, Marc Marquez, whose only MotoGP win at Lusail came back in 2014, played down his Qatar chances.

“It’s the first circuit that theoretically Alex and Pecco are better than me, by the historic results," Marquez said.

But Bagnaia won’t be lulled into a false sense of security.

“Already last year Marc was competitive here [with Gresini]. So I expect that Marc and Alex are the two contenders,” Bagnaia said.

Indeed, the Italian predicts Marc to be fast from the very first laps at Lusail, “like at the other three race weekends”.

Meanwhile, he will become stronger as the "dirty" track conditions improve "... so I can be more competitive and fight."

"The tyres that Michelin brought here are very good, so maybe this season we can also use more the soft.”

Last year saw almost all riders race the medium compounds, front and rear.

“Jorge doesn’t have to put pressure on himself"

Bagnaia also welcomed back his 2023 and 2024 title rival Jorge Martin, who is poised to make a belated Aprilia MotoGP debut this weekend after pre-season injuries.

“Jorge doesn’t have to put pressure on himself. He did just 13 laps this season with a MotoGP bike then he had already 3 big crashes, one in in training and two in Malaysia. So he doesn't have to rush, just adapting , just understanding and enjoying the race weekend.

“It will not be easy for him to enjoy the first weekend because a MotoGP bike is a beast and in this condition, maybe will struggle a bit. But he has time enough to improve during the race weekend and the next races.”

Bagnaia starts the Qatar weekend 11 points behind Marc Marquez and 12 from title leader Alex.