Márquez 4th on debut with the Ducati Lenovo team!

Words and images courtesy Ducati. Recently, Márquez shared his thoughts on the latest Ducati models.

Two days after the 2024 MotoGP World Championship ended, the Ducati Lenovo Team was back on track at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya (Spain). They were there for the first official test in preparation for the 2025 season.

2024 runner-up Francesco Bagnaia, riding a Desmosedici GP in a special white livery, hit the track shortly after 11:00 AM. He completed a total of 58 laps during the remaining six hours of the test. With a fastest lap time of 1:38.398, Bagnaia ended the day in third place.

The test also marked Marc Márquez’s first appearance as an official Ducati rider. After finishing the 2024 season in third place with three wins and ten podiums with the Desmosedici GP of the Gresini Racing MotoGP team, the eight-time World Champion began his new adventure with the Ducati factory squad today. Márquez, who will join Bagnaia next season, started the day after an initial “shakedown” by test rider Michele Pirro. The Spaniard then focused on testing new components and different setup configurations on his “Todo al Rojo” (all red) Desmosedici GP. With 49 laps and a best time of 1:39.454, Márquez wrapped up the day in fourth place.

Francesco Bagnaia said: “It was a positive day. The new bike is already performing well and shows great potential. Of course, the team and engineers will continue refining it over the winter. There are still areas that need improvement. For instance, in terms of braking, the GP24 remains the benchmark. The engine is very powerful. I’m happy with it, as well as the chassis—we’re definitely heading in the right direction. Marc and I had plenty of discussions to compare our feedback. Although we have different riding styles, we were fortunate to share a very similar feel for the bike. Overall, I’m pleased with how the test went.”

Marc Márquez added: “It was good to get back to work as a factory rider. In factory teams, testing is always a little different—you have to try a lot of things and be as precise as possible with your feedback. Today, we mainly focused on the development of the GP25, trying to determine what was better and what was worse compared to the bike I rode this year. At the end, we also made a comparison with the GP24. Some aspects still need improvement, as it’s not easy to show up at the track with a new bike and already be at the level of the one that raced last year. The good thing is that both my feedback and Pecco’s were very similar. This will help simplify the engineers’ work at home over the winter. Overall, the balance is positive, and I’m happy.”

The Ducati Lenovo Team riders will be back on track for the next pre-season test on February 5-7, 2025 at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia.