You are here

MotoGP, The unknown Ducati 2025 factor, Bagnaia vs Marquez: stories of uncomfortable teammates

Starting with some reflections on the Marquez-Bagnaia pairing, let's have a look back at some of the most interesting internal rivalries in the world of motorcycle racing. All of them prickly couples, of course, but also all of them winning

MotoGP: The unknown Ducati 2025 factor, Bagnaia vs Marquez: stories of uncomfortable teammates

Let's put it bluntly: the official Ducati team in 2025 already starts with one and a half hands on the MotoGP World Championship. Wanting to push the imagination to probe the most extreme limits of reality, after the dethronement suffered at the hands of the Pramac team in 2024, the circumstances that could hinder the hunt of the men in red for a trio of successes in four years are but two.

The first is that of a resounding technical blunder, quite unlikely given the gap opened by Ducati on rival manufacturers and, above all, given the level of knowledge and experience accumulated on the project by the engineering genius of Luigi Dall'Igna. Realistically speaking, then, Ducati should not have too many problems preserving its superiority over what to date looks to be the most threatening of rivals, Jorge Martin's #1 Aprilia, who will, however, be engaged in the process of adapting to a bike yet to be refined in character, and still erratic and too edgy.

There remains only a second scenario to disquiet Ducati's dreams, a nightmare bred in its bosom, that of the potential fratricidal struggle that could be triggered between the two spearheads lined up under the roof of the same box: Francesco Bagnaia and Marc Marquez.

On the soft snow-capped mountains of Madonna di Campiglio, the riders together unveiled the new colours of their mount, this year a deeper, thicker red, like a crimson-colored evening lipstick. In spite of the sensuality evoked by the Desmosedici, they maintained the diplomatic attitude already evident in Tuesday's testing at Barcelona. Marquez hides the sporting ferocity that runs through him with swathes of humility, contrary to his temperament on the bike he tiptoed into the Factory team and praised the merits of Bagnaia's riding, braking and cornering speed; the rider from Turin, in turn, not wanting to be discomfited by the aura of the newcomer, remained gentlemanly as per his temperament, was welcoming, hospitable, dribbled the uncomfortable questions and acknowledged the 'old' Champion's magic in left-hand turns.

The key thing, they say, is to collaborate on the development of the GP25. The management of the relationship, in the hands of Davide Tardozzi, is serene for now. Still, it is clear that the two are beginning to sniff each other out, choosing to let a conflict brood underground that will undoubtedly erupt on the track, as soon as it is time to rip these Samaritan masks off their faces and collapse the order of apparent peace. The two rivals are necessary for each other, they represent the stimulus to improve each other, to push themselves to the extreme limit of their capabilities, and from now on the affair of one will also belong to the affair of the other.

But internal rivalries, those within, have peculiar traits; it is no accident that the ancient Greeks coined two different words to distinguish conflict with the external enemy, polèmos, from the struggle between children of the same homeland, stasis. The degree of intensity inherent in the latter tends to radicalize the terms of the challenge and takes on a strong historical-symbolic connotation. There is an ancient and truthful adage that goes, "your teammate is your first opponent." In this specific case, Bagnaia's reassertion would leave Marquez's resurrection unfinished, and a new domination by Marquez would prevent Bagnaia from full consecration in the Olympus of unforgettable heroes on two wheels. There is, in short, to be fought out by fellow-rivals, an eternal seat in the history of motorcycle racing.

It is certainly not the first time in motorsport that two champions find themselves co-existing side by side. Of 'fraternal enemies' there have been many, above all we can remember Senna and Prost at the wheel of the dominant McLaren packaged Marlboro, the clash that at the turn of the late 1980s and early 1990s wrote fundamental pages of epic motor racing history. But it is in the realm of two wheels that we decided to linger to bring you a short list of antagonisms between teammates. We asked ourselves: is putting two roosters in the henhouse more of a danger or an opportunity for growth for manufacturers and riders? Does the antagonism of internal rivalries elevate the overall level of the actors on the stage or does it risk, from within, 'depleting' them both?

To provide unambiguous answers to questions of this caliber would be far too simple. But to our rescue come the bare facts to accompany, through events of the past, a glimpse of the future. And it is a fact that the three cases we will have a look at all have the same denouement-for sure coming at the end of tiresome paths, but victorious for those teams that boldly chose attack over caution, deploying two bombers on the pitch instead of a single striker.

Let's proceed in chronological order: Capirossi-Harada, Loris is willing to do anything.

The 1998 middle class is a year that began five years earlier. In 1993 Loris Capirossi is the enfant prodige of Italian motorcycle racing, and after two titles in 125 he was promoted by Honda to 250, at 20 years of age he was the favorite for what could have been his third crown in four seasons of MotoGP. In his way comes an all-Japanese pairing, Tetsuyu Harada on a Yamaha, who in the last race, making up 10 points in the standings, capitalized on Capirex going long at the Bugatti corner of the Jarama circuit (probably betrayed by his tires) and thanks to an exceptional pace won the race that blew his rival away from the title in 250. But the story did not end there.

In 1997, after two opaque seasons in 500, Loris Capirossi takes a step back and halves the displacement. The bike is the Aprilia RSV 250, the team is Aprilia Racing and the teammate, lo and behold, Tetsuyu Harada. The fates are crossed again. So we arrive at the fateful 1998, the year of redemption, but also the year of one of the most controversial endings in the world championship. We are in Argentina for the last race on the calendar. Loris leads the standings by four points. Until then, his had been a season meager in victories (only 2), but built on the consistency of 8 podiums. Exactly the opposite was Harada's, who despite mistakes was able to stay in the game thanks to 5 first places.

Capirex started from pole position, but the speed of Valentino Rossi and a few too many little mistakes demoted him to third with a handful of corners to go, just behind Harada's twin Aprilia. The track's third-to-last corner arrived, and with a last shred of hope, despite the several meters separating them, Capirossi attempted a desperate braking move. Later he said, "If I hadn't tried, I would never have forgiven myself."

The attack was really aggressive and the epilogue became inevitable: the two made contact, Harada crashed violently to the ground, while the Italian was forced to go long. With his teammate still in the gravel railing against the maneuver considered insane, Capirex rejoined the track, and crossed the finish line in second position. Confusion reigned in the box, the Noale factory branded the #65's behavior as unsportsmanlike and decided to terminate his contract by starting a long legal diatribe, but the result was finally validated by the FIM: Loris Capirossi was World Champion for the third time in his career.

AMA Superbike, Spies-Mladin: overseas elbows wide

America, the two blue-and-white Suzuki GSXR1000s of the Yoshimura team, a young upstart and a seasoned ruler. This is the arena in which the dispute between Ben Spies and Mat Mladin played out from 2006 to 2008. If we were to stop in front of the roll of honor of the then AMA Superbike Championship, we would in truth notice a clear 3-0 inflicted by the former on the latter; in short, we would not have the feeling that we were in the presence of an enthralling plot, dense with reversals and suspense, crashes and rematches, races decided at the last meter. That's right, 2006, 2007, and 2008 were the years when the 'Texas Terror,' after a brief two-season intro with the millennials, decided to play solo. Ben Spies was a big smash for the category, interrupting the reign of Mladin, who from 1999 to 2005, always loyal to his Gixxer, had imposed a dominance of 6 titles.

But the struggle was there, and it was tight. To realize this, one need only to sharpen one's eyesight and peek at the points gap at the end of the championship: 7 in 2006, one in 2007, and 5 in 2008. Moreover, the internal rivalry was a real golden goose for the Yoshimura team, which sealed a monopoly of victories in all 3 seasons. There was never good blood between the two, and if the wide fighting elbows were a stylistic hallmark of Spies, it was with words that Mladin's rustic identity made its way in.

In any case, what will remain of this overseas rivalry, perhaps as little known as the true and deep America of which it is emblematic, are the cinematic laps that the two Suzuki men sowed along the tracks over the course of 3 years of racing. To believe it, just search your devices for images of the decisive race at Laguna Seca in 2007 and then the electric 7 laps of Race 2 in California the following year.

Rossi-Lorenzo: walls and triumphs at Yamaha.

The paths of Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo crossed in 2008 to give rise to the longest internecine rivalry in the contemporary era. Yamaha placed the fresh 250 world champion alongside the #46, afraid that the latter might actually give in to the sirens of Maranello's red F1 car. Rossi did not appreciate this gesture, considering it ungrateful of the Japanese to put such a strong rider next to him, and then arranged for the famous 'wall' to be erected between the two pits, with the aim of preventing the transfer of data from one team to the other.

In his debut season 'Por Fuera' was very fast from the start and by the third race, in Portugal, he already took home his first triumph. However, the young Mallorcan had not yet amalgamated impetus and control well, and so there were the two bad ankle injuries that marked his debut season, while Rossi apologized for the delay and after two years of fasting returned to the top of the world.

The following year, Lorenzo has learned his lesson through pain, and he looks mature enough to challenge the antagonist on the other side of the wall. The crucial point of the season comes in a very specific place and time, the last corner of the Montmeló circuit. Lorenzo prepares with a hint of levity to enter the corner as the race leader, but Rossi with the finest and most visionary overtaking of his career slips past him and wins the Grand Prix. That overtake is something more than an overtake, Rossi thrusts himself into his opponent's psyche, where the year before it had been physical pain that had slipped in. Jorge absorbs the blow, there is still more to learn. To the Doctor goes the ninth world championship.

In 2010 the balance of power is reversed. Valentino is back from a nagging shoulder injury and Lorenzo starts the season at his best. At Le Mans, for the third round, the Spaniard shows his muscles and with a masterful race first lets Rossi vent his spleen and then goes smoothly to take the top step of the podium. The fight between the two, unfortunately, is interrupted in the second free practice session at Mugello. Rossi goes high-side, at 180 km/h flies through the air at the Biondetti, fracturing his tibia and fibula. He will miss 3 races. Lorenzo will win all 3, take the lead and become MotoGP World Champion for the first time in Sepang.

2011-2012: Rossi divorces from Yamaha and attempts the great challenge with Ducati, but things don't go his way at all. Diminished by his experience on the Red, in 2013 Rossi rejoins Yamaha, unable but to accept the leading position of his new/old partner. The first two-year period slips by without any disagreements. But it is an uneasy calm and in fact the storm erupts in 2015.

About the year of discord everything has been said and written, perhaps too much. That wind has not stopped blowing and even today, at the 10-year mark, the division of support between Pecco Bagnaia and Marc Marquez lives on that reflection from the long shadow. However, the intention of our piece was to probe the potential of antagonisms in-house, and certainly the Rossi-Lorenzo coexistence rightfully falls into an extremely virtuous case study. What manufacturer would ever trade four world titles to avoid facing a major storm? In short, looking at history, Ducati's choice might be a risk, but a very well-calculated one.

 

Translated by Julian Thomas

Related articles

 
 
Privacy Policy