Marc Marquez Wants Francesco Bagnaia To Be Competitive In MotoGP 2026

Two-time world champion Francesco Bagnaia (Instagram/@pecco63).

JAKARTA Marc Marquez hopes that his team-mate Francesco "Pecco" Bagnaia can return to his best performance in the MotoGP race in the coming season after appearing far below expectations so far this year.

Bagnaia has finished this season by finishing fifth in the final standings. The two-time world champion underwent an unpleasant season because he could not adapt to the Desmodedici GP25 motorcycle.

This is very different from the impressive appearance when he was still driving with the GP24 in the 2024 season. At that time, he managed to achieve as many as 11 podiums of victory.

"We need Pecco (Francesco Bagnaia) who returns to his level because he is very sensitive on the bike and that will be very helpful for the future," Marquez said as quoted by Crash.

Bagnaia's poor performance started at the start of the season. He really lost in competition with The Baby Alien, Marquez's nickname, which immediately blended with his new bike.

Bagnaia then had time to rise, but then experienced a series of poor results on track after an impressive appearance in the 2025 Japanese MotoGP. At that time he managed the first podium in the Sprint Race and the main race.

Marquez believes that Bagnaia can actually compete with Ducati's latest motorbike. Apart from being competitive like Japan, the Italian racer also managed to show a good pace in training sessions.

"In Motegi, he won 37 points. I kept pressing and I was unable to catch up. So, December and January will be the best time for Pecco to rearrange everything and restart trials in Malaysia," said Marquez.

Marquez is recorded to have advanced smoothly towards the 2025 title, which is the seventh world title in MotoGP throughout his or ninth career overall at the Grand Prix.

The dominance of the Spaniard was highlighted by a difference of 78 points from his younger brother Alex Marquez at the end of the season despite being absent in the last five races due to injury problems.