Premiere of the Spaniard with the factory Ducati in Barcelona

Two days after the end of the 2024 season, the MotoGP teams began their preparations for the next season with the testing of the new year’s prototypes at the Barcelona circuit.

In these tests Marc Marquez, six-time MotoGP world champion, did his first tests with the factory Ducati. We remind you that the Spaniard ended his amazing career with Honda at the end of 2023, to spend this year in the “family” of Ducati.

However, in the year just ended he was driving last year’s GP23 for the “satellite” team Gresini Racing, until at the beginning of last June his two-year contract with the factory team of Bologna was officially announced, replacing Ennea Bastianini.

So, immediately after the end of this season, on the Barcelona circuit he drove the new, factory Ducati GP25 for the first time, as well as this year’s GP24, completing 49 laps as part of his preparation – and getting to know his new mechanics – for next season.

The tests lasted 7 hours and at the end of them Marquez scored the 4th time, with 1:39.454. The Spaniard was 0.65” behind his little brother, Alex Marquez, who scored in his first year on Gresini’s Ducati. Among them were Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo (+0.4”) and Peco Banaia (+0.6”), Marc Marquez’s colleague on the factory Ducati last year.

Speaking about his experience with the Ducati factory team and bike, the six-time world champion said that leaving Honda a year ago “I took a risky bet and now it’s time to complete it by joining the factory team. The Ducati deal was the best news.

My relationship with the team is good, I felt comfortable from the beginning, very calm. The fact that I didn’t change factory or bike and met a lot of mechanics made me feel comfortable. I had this peace of mind all day”.

On the transition from last year’s GP23 to the new year’s Ducati GP25, the Spaniard added: “It’s been a jump from ’23 to ’25, it’s a new bike and the first time out on the track always takes more time to set everything up. I tested twice with the ’24, there are some differences. I think ’25 is more competitive, but we have to see.”

Finally, regarding the differences between the Ducati and the satellite Gresini, Marquez concluded: “Today was a back-to-work day, like working in a factory, with a very strict plan, with everything set and knowing what to try. In this context, the rider is 100% available to work for the factory and give the best possible information (to the engineers).”

In addition to Marquez, on this day of testing in Barcelona, ​​two-time world champion Peco Banaia tested three different bikes, as in addition to the GP24 and GP25 he also had a hybrid that combined the two.

New MotoGP world champion Jorge Martin made his much-anticipated Aprilia debut – leaving satellite Pramac Ducati – beginning his testing on the 2024-spec RS-GP before testing the 2025 prototype. Although he had a relatively painless fall , the Spaniard completed 77 laps and finished 11th.