Last year, Spanish MotoGP rider Marc Márquez signed a 2-year deal with Italian factory team Ducati, leaving Gresini behind in the pursuit of his seventh championship.  

As the season starts in Thailand at the Chang International Circuit on February 28, Márquez now competes with his teammate Pecco Bagnaia, three-time champion, for the 2025 title in a fierce battle.

With Ducati Lenovo Team holding an advantage by having the best bikes of this year, many predict an intense competition between the teammates and a certain championship trophy for one of them.

In a video posted on MotoGP's official Instagram page, riders were asked for their bets on who would win the championship. 14 of the interviewed riders put their bets on Márquez, while 11 believe Bagnaia will be the 2025 World Champion.

2024 Season for Márquez

In 2023, Márquez was still riding with Repsol Honda, his home team for about 10 years, but struggled with poor equipment that year, leading him to make a move to the satellite team Gresini in 2024.

Márquez seemed to find a new home in Gresini as he goes back into the spotlight of the competition, joining the top of the rankings and bringing his style back into the track.

Márquez ended up achieving three race wins, 20 podium finishes and the third place in the overall rankings in the 2024 season, showing that he can still compete at the highest level of the sport.

2025 Season: One for Ducati

Asserting his dominance in the sport back, Marc Márquez made a strong move to the Ducati Lenovo Team for this upcoming season. 

Ducati now counts on Pecco Bagnaia and Marc Márquez and holds an apparently grand chance of winning the championship this year, as they remain the most predominant team alongside Pramac Racing, the team in which Jorge Martín won his first title with last season. 

The current World Champion, however, also decided to make a move to Aprilia, leaving Ducati with a bigger chance to win the championship against Pramac, who lack highly competitive riders on their bikes.

As Márquez enthusiastically aims for his seventh title, he made a move from Gresini to Ducati to have a chance to ride one of the newest bikes, as only Ducati and Pramac were set to have GP25s. 

However, Ducati is likely to race on an improved GP24 rather than an entirely new bike, as the results of their GP25s in pre-season tests did not meet expectations.

Despite this, Ducati is set to remain the top team of the competition as their 2024 bike has proven to be highly successful. Although less accustomed to Ducati bikes, Márquez seemed to perform better than Bagnaia in the pre-season tests, finishing P1 on both days in Buriram.

As the two Ducati riders form the “dream team,” the battle between Márquez and Bagnaia is set to be one of the most entertaining competitions of the history of the sport.