Ducati team manager Davide Tardozzi has praised the cooperation between Marc Marquez and Francesco Bagnaia during the recent post-race test at Jerez, following a dramatic Spanish Grand Prix weekend.
Marquez bounced back from an early crash to finish 12th in the race, while Bagnaia settled for a frustrating third place behind Fabio Quartararo. But both returned to the track on Monday for the first in-season MotoGP test of 2025, focusing on development work for the team.
“We tested different things with both riders,” Tardozzi told MotoGP.com. “With Marc, we worked on the front-end to give him more confidence entering corners. Pecco focused more on the bike’s balance, which was a problem during the weekend. We also had a new swingarm to evaluate, which needs further testing.”
Marquez was fastest overall in the test with a 1:35.876 lap – the only rider to go below 1m36s – while Bagnaia was 19th, dedicating his time to setup work rather than outright pace.
Despite their competitive rivalry, Tardozzi emphasized that both riders are sharing valuable feedback to help Ducati’s development efforts.
“Days like these are when riders communicate the most,” said Tardozzi. “The relationship between them is a big help to Gigi Dall’Igna and the engineering team. Many doubted they could work together, but not only are they champions, they’re also smart. They understand that collaboration accelerates development.”
As the MotoGP paddock heads to Le Mans for the French Grand Prix, Marquez trails his brother Alex by just one point in the championship standings. Bagnaia sits third, 20 points off the lead.
