Marc Marquez is set to ride Ducati’s current-spec GP24 as well as a GP25 prototype in next week’s Barcelona MotoGP test, according to the marque’s test rider Michele Pirro.
Marquez will get his first opportunity to work with the factory Ducati team in the official pre-season test on 19 November, having signed a two-year deal to partner Francesco Bagnaia at the squad back in June.
Typically, teams take advantage of the November test to give their riders a chance to sample their latest machinery for the following year. But since Marquez never got to ride its current GP24 machine, having ridden the 2023-based GP23 with some upgrades at Gresini this year, Ducati is allowing the Spaniard to run two different bikes in Barcelona.
This, in theory, should ease his two-step transition from GP23 to GP25, while also helping him understand why the 2024-spec Desmosedici has been so dominant in MotoGP.
“He also has the GP24, he will try them both,” Pirro revealed in an interview with GPOne. “I expect him to get on and say: ‘ok, everything is a little better’. Not that he will go half-a-second or eight tenths faster. I don't expect a revolution or anything special.”
Ducati outclassed the competition in MotoGP this year, seizing the title with six rounds to spare in September.
Much of its success is down to the GP24, which according to many represents a massive leap in performance of the already-rapid Desmosedici from 2023.
GP24 runners have won 15 of the 19 rounds so far this year, while three of the top four riders in the championship are racing on the current specification of the bike.
Pirro, however, doesn’t think Ducati will make another big jump with the GP25, which remains under development, stressing that only incremental updates are possible year-on-year.
“You will struggle to see and notice the evolution,” said the Italian, who tested the new bike at Jerez a fortnight ago.
“However, like every year, we try to improve and I believe that the 2025 bike is also a further step forward. And the latest tests have confirmed this.
“There are no revolutions but small improvements, which will also need to be confirmed on the other tracks.
He added: "The idea is always the same [to find improvement over GP24], because it would mean that we have found something.
“But it is not easy and it would already be positive to take a step forward like the one between the GP22 and the GP23, which allows us to always be competitive.
“I think that what makes the difference is being competitive in all 20 races and not just in some. This year the GP24 has shown that it is competitive in all phases - something that perhaps did not happen between the GP22 and the GP23.
“It is not a given and it is not easy to find that half a tenth to improve a bike that is really good. But we are working on it and we can't wait for Pecco and Marc to try it. I am curious to try it too on a track where grip is usually low, like Barcelona".
Pirro explained that the GP25 is built to suit Bagnaia’s style of riding, but changes made to improve braking performance will also favour his new team-mate Marquez.
"The right term, when the new aerodynamics arrive, in my opinion it will be more angry. It is even more racing, because we have fixed some things for Pecco So, it could have characteristics that go in the direction of [hard] brakers like Bagnaia and Marquez".
Pirro will again be in action in the Barcelona test, substituting for the injured Fabio di Giannantonio at VR46.
Di Giannantonio, Marquez and Bagnaia will be the only riders to race with the GP25 next year, as Ducati downscales its involvement to three factory bikes from four in 2024.
