Mick Doohan expects Marc Marquez to fight Jorge Martin, Pecco Bagnaia for the title

Francesco Bagnaia is the reigning two-time MotoGP champion, and after topping both pre-season tests in Sepang and Lusail, the expectation is that the factory Ducati rider will be very hard to beat.

Two new lap records were set by Bagnaia, but Jorge Martin and Marc Marquez were impressive in different ways.

• Can KTM cling onto Pedro Acosta long-term? “It goes hand-in-hand with results” 

• Marc Marquez asked if he’d risk overtaking Alex Marquez for a race win?

Race pace was a particular strength for Marquez, while Martin’s raw pace was again on display at both tests.

Every rider in Ducati’s line-up has won a MotoGP race in their career, except Alex Marquez who did win two sprint races in 2023.

So challengers to the likes of Bagnaia, Martin and Marquez will certainly come from within.

But other brands also have the capabilities of making a strong push, and Doohan is also excited to see what Pedro Acosta can achieve.

Speaking about the upcoming season, Doohan told MotoGP.com: “Jorge Martin was very close to winning the championship last year. I would imagine it’s going to be much the same again.

“I didn’t see much of testing but the Ducati was strong and there are numerous Ducatis at the front and Jorge will be one of them, as is Bagnaia.

“You can’t discard Marc Marquez either. But there’s a bunch of young guys coming through.

“Acosta is going to be a wildcard in there as well, depending on what the GASGAS is like.

“It’s early days and I didn’t see much of testing. I saw some results but it’s testing and it is hard to know what’s going on.

“After three or four races you’ll get an idea of what the lay of the land is.”