Francesco Bagnaia has set a goal of leapfrogging Alex Marquez and finishing second in the 2025 MotoGP standings after achieving a breakthrough win in the Japanese Grand Prix.
The factory Ducati rider put together a dominant performance at Motegi over the weekend, securing his first double victory since the 2024 season finale in Barcelona.
It marked an impressive recovery for the three-time world champion, who had failed to score a single point just two weeks earlier in Misano and had qualified only 21st in the previous round in Barcelona.
While his team-mate Marc Marquez wrapped up the 2025 MotoGP title in Japan, second place remains up for grabs, with Alex Marquez sitting 66 points clear on last year’s Ducati.
While that may sound like an ambitious target, Bagnaia actually gained 27 points over the Gresini rider in Motegi, as the younger Marquez suffered an unusually off weekend en route to sixth place.
Asked if his 2026 campaign starts now, Bagnaia said: “Now it's 2025. I still have a possibility to finish second in the championship.
“It's true that [there is a gap of] 66 points with just five races to go, but the objective is doing the maximum. I really hope to arrive in Indonesia in the same way as I was feeling here, and try to fight against Alex. This is the correct objective right now.”
Bagnaia admitted in Japan that he was “angry” about not finding a solution to his problems sooner, as it “would have been a different championship” if he was up to pace right away.
While Ducati has not publicly revealed what it changed on Bagnaia’s bike, it is widely understood that it incorporated certain elements from GP24 into his 2025 machine.
Bagnaia said he needs a race or two to confirm the progress he and Ducati first made in the Misano test, but hopes he can continue to show the same speed in the final leg of the season.
“It's not convincing, but I really hope it is like this,” he said. “I think that my potential is the one [I showed in Motegi], to fight for victory, to fight for a podium every race weekend. Not just because [of my own capabilities], but also because I have the best bike on the grid. So the objective with Ducati is to finish on the podium every race weekend.
“I think that the potential is this one, and not the one I was showing in the last GPs. So, I really hope that everything will continue working till Valencia, and then for the test, to understand what things are better to continue for next year.”
Alex Marquez: I can now focus on myself
In Motegi, Alex Marquez was the only rider who could deny his brother the 2025 MotoGP title, with Bagnaia having already fallen out of contention by that point.
But the 29-year-old endured a rare off weekend, as he failed to make it to Q2 directly on Friday and could only qualify eighth on the grid. From there, he ended up outside the points in the sprint, before finishing a lacklustre sixth in the grand prix.
The younger Marquez said he was delighted to see his brother clinch a ninth world championship on Sunday, but also relieved to finally shift his focus back to his own campaign.
"I really wanted to extend the championship, to get to Indonesia, to slow Marc down a bit, and all that got to me a bit,” he admitted.
“I didn't ride the way I should, [I was] loose with [the] flow, I was very stiff all weekend, and so everything got worse.
“When Marc crossed the finish line and I saw he was winning, it was like a void in my stomach, a 'that's it, now I can focus on my own stuff.’
He added: “When he crossed the finish line, I was the happiest brother in the world because if anyone deserves it, it's him.
“Now it's time to celebrate, but I still have work to do and a mission ahead of me.”
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