Francesco Bagnaia described his early battle with Marc Marquez during the Spanish MotoGP as giving him “a really great feeling,” but admitted he regretted how brief the fight turned out to be.
During the opening laps at Jerez, Bagnaia and Marquez engaged in a spirited exchange of overtakes between turn eight and turn 10, reminiscent of their thrilling duel at the same event last year. Unfortunately, the battle was cut short when Marquez crashed out of third place on lap three at turn eight, though he remounted and finished 10th.
Bagnaia, meanwhile, was eventually passed by race winner Alex Marquez and finished third after struggling to get close enough to Fabio Quartararo, citing a lack of front-end confidence on his Ducati Desmosedici GP25.
Speaking in the post-race press conference, Bagnaia said:
“The first four laps I was having a really great feeling. I knew Marc was trying to overtake me in turn eight, but this year I was more competitive in those corners.”
He added that he caught Marquez off-guard by diving into turn nine, leading to some tight exchanges through turn 10.
“We touched because he was wheelieing and it made it more difficult for him to control the front. But it was very short. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a battle for the last two laps and for first or second place.”
Despite the missed opportunity for a late-race duel, Bagnaia was encouraged by the improved performance in key sections compared to 2024.
As a result of the race, Alex Marquez now leads the championship heading to France, with Marc Marquez second, one point behind. Bagnaia sits third, trailing by 20 points.
