Pecco Bagnaia explains “very short” Marc Marquez Spanish MotoGP duel, contact

Francesco Bagnaia says he had “a really great feeling” during his early battle in the Spanish MotoGP with Marc Marquez, but regrets that it only lasted a few corners.

Marquez’s race for the top positions was over on lap three when he crashed out of third place at turn eight behind Bagnaia; but the Ducati Lenovo teammates, on lap one, had engaged in a battle not dissimilar to the one they enjoyed late in last year’s edition of the Spanish Grand Prix, with multiple passes and counter-overtakes between turn eight and turn 10.

While Marquez went on to crash, remount, and finish 10th, Bagnaia was passed by eventual winner Alex Marquez and finally finished third having been unable to get close enough to Fabio Quartararo to create a passing opportunity as a result of a lack of front end confidence on the Ducati Desmosedici GP25.

But the Italian said his feeling at the start of the race was actually quite good, and he felt better, in some corners, battling Marquez in 2025 than he had done in 2024.

“The first four laps I was having a really great feeling,” Bagnaia told the post-race press conference in Jerez.

“I was knowing that Marc [Marquez] was trying to overtake me in turn eight, but this year luckily I was more competitive in those corners.

“I was quite sure that he was not expecting me to enter in turn nine, so I just tried there; then he crossed the line and he was a bit wide in turn 10, I crossed a bit the line and then we touched because he was wheelieing so it was more difficult to control the front and we had the contact.

“But it was very short.

“Unluckily it wasn’t in the last two laps for the first two positions.”

Marquez’s 12th place and Alex Marquez’s victory meant that the Gresini Ducati rider takes the championship lead to France by one point. Bagnaia is 20 points off the championship lead in third place.