The factory Ducati garage promises to create a spark next year with two champions side by side, Pecco Bagnaia and Marc Márquez, but it will be up to the Spaniard to adapt to the #1’s “tailor-made” bike, believes Ramón Forcada. As for Marc Márquez, he believes that part of his motivation, into changing to the italian bike was to show how powerful he is.
The experienced Crew Chief explained to Mundo Deportivo that Bagnaia has this advantage on his side, knowing the bike like few others and having it shaped on his own image: ‘In the end, respect is always there. The general level of riders at the moment is very high. Pecco’s advantage is that it’s his bike, he shaped this Ducati and Márquez will have to adapt. And he will achieve it. This can be negative because you might think: «Hey, he beat me with my bike»’.
He explained how important it is to have a strong teammate at your side: ‘The first enemy is your teammate. If your partner is weak, no one pressures you because others are in a different fight. When he finds the same bike himself and, moreover, they fight to win, not to be the first in the factory, and that will bring a lot of pressure’.
Tension will happen, but Forcada believes that everything will be well controlled: ‘Ducati will like this and will have to manage the situation. And obviously there will be difficult times or pressure for both of them’.
The pressure, he guarantees, is on #93’s side… but not only:
– For Márquez too, of course. He is a rider who has won more titles and who has proven in recent years to be the king of MotoGP and if he is not able to win with the bike he won on… he also has the pressure on him. Pecco doesn’t have it just because it arrives. No no. The other [Márquez] got into this mess to show that he could beat the riders who are already on Ducati, with their bike.