It is not common for the same manufacturer to have two great champions in MotoGP. Ducati will indirectly do this this year, with Francesco Bagnaia in the official team and Marc Márquez in the Gresini satellite team – with no contractual relationship with the factory. For this reason, the champion of the last two years will have another heavyweight 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, indeed 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 whether they no longer trusted me, whether they no longer believed in me. Then, many things happened regarding the development of a new inline four-cylinder 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 had mainly 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 he considers not to be the same as Bagnaia’s current one: ‘Márquez is more of a rival, as strong as he has always been, now probably 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 did in the 2023 season when [Jorge] Martín put him in greater difficulty’.