Francesco Bagnaia has spoken out against critics who have claimed that the reigning world champion would be against Marc Marquez joining the Factory Ducati team.
Some journalists have suggested that it could potentially lead to clashes between the pair, who have both proved successful and competitive in MotoGP.
These rumours circulated further after Bagnaia and Marquez crashed into each other at Portimao during the Portuguese Grand Prix.
“I saw a video saying that I don’t want Marc on the factory team, but it’s bullshit,” Bagnaia stated.
Bagnaia continued, “I don’t care. I just want to beat them all, try to be always the best and keep going like this, I don’t have a preference honestly.
“I am working well with Enea [Bastianini]. And if the team changes the team-mate, we have to start again. But in any case, my ambition is always to be stronger than them.”
Bagnaia and Marquez thrilled the Spanish crowd last time out in Jerez, battling one another until the chequered flag was waved, with Bagnaia just beating Marquez to the flag, overtaking the Spaniard with only a few laps remaining.
Marquez has completed four races with the Ducati Desmosedici GP23 with satellite team Gresini Racing, who are using the previous seasons’ Ducati machinery and has already achieved a Grand Prix podium finish in Jerez, and a Sprint podium in Portugal.
Marquez left Repsol Honda at the end of 2023 after 11 years with the team.
Speaking on his progression with Ducati, Marquez stated: “Step by step, I feel better on the race track, I feel stronger and much more confident, and this was my target for the year.
“Obviously 2025, ’26, if I continue in that way it would be a different target, and the target would be to fight for the championship.
“For that reason, if you want to fight for the championship you need to have the newest material in your bike to have more chances.”
Enea Bastianini replaced Jack Miller at the factory Ducati squad for the 2023 season but missed nine rounds of the championship through injury.
With Jorge Martin’s championship battle against Bagnaia in 2023 and Marc Marquez’s impressive start to 2024, the second seat at Ducati has become a major talking point.
Championship leader Jorge Martin revealed: “The natural move will be to go to the factory Ducati team.
“I was really close in ’22, last season was again till the last race. It’s my goal to arrive there, I hope I can achieve it very shortly, but if not let’s see what happens.”
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