Marc Marquez wrapped up the end of his pre-season testing in Buriram by putting his hallmark on the best time of the second day in 1'28.855, just over a tenth and a half off Bagnaia's track record, chased by his brother Alex on the GP24 at just under two tenths.
"Testing is testing," the Spaniard was keen to emphasize to reporters shortly afterward, although all signs point to a competitive Marquez from the early stages of the championship.
Bagnaia himself is convinced of how his teammate is the rider who will be the most ready for this start of the season, also complicit in the various injuries among some of his potential rivals such as that of Martin or Di Giannantonio.
Ducati's decision to take a step back and retrace the path already taken with the 2024 engine could also potentially lead to a more hotly-contested start to the season, with the other GP24s of Alex Marquez and Morbidelli already showing that they are ready to give battle.
However, testing is only testing we said, and Marc Marquez prefers to keep a cautious approach to his predictions: he dreams of fighting for the title, that's clear, but the season is long and there are still many factors to consider.
When did you realize that the GP24 engine was the best option?
"From the beginning for me it was two different but new bikes," the Spaniard began, "The balance of the '24 was already very good, but we still worked on the '25 to balance its weaknesses and strengths, because it had them and they were important.
But then testing the bike on three different tracks we realized something and Ducati made the safer decision to use the base '24 while introducing things that we already brought here to the tests.
The bike works well and there was no reason to take a risk in homologating an engine that we didn't fully know for the next two years."
As for the fairing?
"We still have to think about it, because the aerodynamics of the '25 is very competitive but it changes the balance of the bike, so we have to understand how it performs in fast and slow corners, and based on the tracks in the first part of the season we will make a decision on what will give us the biggest advantage."
Today you did a race simulation maintaining an incredible pace under 1'31, no one was that fast.
"I don't think anyone worked on the long race today, but that was one of my goals.
I know it's boring to be there for 23 laps but today my brother gave me the motivation because he was fast, even though he had a little problem today. We weren't really together but we could do it by making comparisons because he was fast.
I had a long list of technical details to go through and I achieved all the goals, I'm ready to start the season."
How are you finding working with Rigamonti?
"The relationship has improved a lot in these various tests, but especially here is where we really started working together more on the details of the setup.
He has been studying a lot this winter on my data from last year to understand my riding style and what I need and what I can improve on.
I have a new group but I try to make it easy for everyone and I am creating a special relationship with him.
I really like his working method, he is very organized and precise about what we need to do, I am happy."
Today at the beginning of the day you had some problems with braking, but after you discussed it with Rigamonti and Dall'Igna it was solved and you posted your fastest lap.
"Yes, I was late on my fast lap because we still had to test some parts. In testing you have to adapt to the conditions and the needs of the team."
Do you think you are the favorite in the first race of the season?
"No," however, the Spaniard opined, "for me the favorite is Pecco, and I'm the second one.
Last year we finished the championship like this. He fought for the championship for the last four years, won two times.
Testing is testing, and we are in the world championship, everyone is very fast. Honestly I was better in testing in Malaysia than here, you have to try to be strong in your weaknesses, not in your strengths.
How many pre-seasons is one rider super-fast? ... in a race weekend a lot of things change and anything can happen so we need to be careful. We will try to find a good base.
We found it, but continue with a good balance that will be very important. And don't forget Martin. OK, he's not here and when you don't see the name you just forget, and as we saw Bezzecchi today with the Aprilia, he is also fast."
What are your expectations for this season, who do you see among your main rivals?
"I hope I can fight for the title. Definitely among my rivals I see my garage mate Bagnaia, and my brother Alex also on a Ducati.
Obviously I would also see Acosta and Martin well, it's too early to make predictions, it's going to be a long season with 22 races and in MotoGP anything can happen, so we have to see how things develop, we will focus on what we have control over in our box, and whether we will be able to fight for the title this season will depend on many factors."
