It is not common for the same constructor to have two great champions in MotoGP. Ducati will indirectly do so this year, by having Francesco Bagnaia in the official team and Marc Márquez in the satellite Gresini – without any contractual relationship with the factory. That is why the champion of the last two years will have another strong rival within the same manufacturer.
Former rider Giacomo Agostini drew a parallel with his own case at MV Agusta in the 1970s, writing in the newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport: ‘I had a similar situation, actually certainly worse, when in 1972 Phil Read was hired by MV Agusta. It was worse because there was a five-time world champion who was already on the same team as me. I questioned if they no longer trusted me, if they no longer believed in me. Then, many things happened regarding the development of a new inline-four engine in which Read and I had different views. For me, in a way, it was also a positive incentive, because I won again, although I don’t think there was any need’.
According to Agostini, he mainly had a conflict of views with Read regarding the development of the bike, eventually leaving for Yamaha after two years to achieve new successes. A position that he considers is not the same as Bagnaia’s current one: ‘Márquez is another rival, strong as he has always been, probably now with a bike closer to his, certainly more competitive, and that will not force him to risk beyond the limit as it sometimes happened to him last year. I am of the opinion that Pecco will have the opportunity to prove once again who he is, as he already did in the 2023 season, when [Jorge] Martín put him in greater difficulty’.
