After the covers were lifted on the 2025 Ducati Lenovo Team machines in Italy, the question we’re asking is this: are Pecco Bagnaia and Marc Marquez the greatest-ever MotoGP™ line-up?
Some, understandably, will say yes. The Italian and Spaniard have 11 World Championship titles between them, eight of them (six for Marquez, two for Bagnaia) having been achieved in the premier class.
However, others - also understandably - will think otherwise. So we thought we’d have a little look at some of MotoGP’s best line-ups that we’ve been privileged to see in the modern era.
Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo
By the end of their time together as factory Yamaha teammates, the iconic duo had won 14 Grand Prix titles, 10 of them in the premier class. In the modern era of MotoGP™, in terms of Championship success and statistics, Rossi and Lorenzo formed the greatest partnership of all.
Marc Marquez and Jorge Lorenzo
Although the line-up didn’t last long following Lorenzo’s retirement from MotoGP™ at the end of a difficult 2019 campaign, on paper, with nine MotoGP titles claimed, the #93 and #99 combination was right up there with the best we’ve ever seen.
Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa
In terms of numbers, the Stoner/Pedrosa line-up at Honda doesn’t stack up against the previously mentioned riders. Stoner’s two MotoGP™ titles, coupled with Pedrosa’s three in the lower classes, aren’t at the levels of Rossi, Lorenzo and Marquez. But stats aren’t everything. Stoner and Pedrosa are two of the finest riders we’ve seen grace MotoGP, with Stoner in particular widely regarded as one of the most naturally talented motorcycle racers of all time.
Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa
From 2013 to 2018, Marquez and Pedrosa fronted Honda’s factory efforts. And what a pairing it was. Marquez might have been the one doing the Championship winning, but in their time together, Pedrosa – who picked up 10 top four MotoGP Championship finishes – won nine of his 31 MotoGP victories.
Who's your pick?
So, those five, including Bagnaia and Marquez, are what we would consider a group of the best teammates we’ve seen in MotoGP. Do you agree, or is there another partnership that you think should make the cut? It's a tough choice, and compelling arguments can be made for each. And we've also had to leave some solid choices out.
While it's difficult to say which teammate combination is the best ever, what we can say in absolute confidence is that 2025’s battle between the two spearheading Ducati’s latest title effort, Bagnaia and Marquez, is right up there with the crème de la crème of alliances.
The pairing possesses all the ingredients needed for us to be talking about them alongside the likes of Rossi and Lorenzo for years to come, and Ducati will be hoping those ingredients lead to a recipe that ends with the sweet taste of Championship success for one or the other - starting in 2025.