Eye-opening name mentioned alongside Dani Pedrosa as MotoGP’s most technical talent

Despite the Ducati rider’s current struggles in MotoGP, Marco Bezzecchi says that Francesco Bagnaia is one of the best riders he’s ever seen in the premier class.

Two-time MotoGP World Champion Francesco Bagnaia is currently third in the 2025 riders’ standings but 110 points behind leader Marc Marquez, who joined the Italian in the Ducati Lenovo Team for the first time this season.

A winner only once in 2025, Bagnaia has consistently complained of poor front feeling from he 2025 version of the Ducati Desmoseidici, and has struggled to make progress with this issue since the beginning of the season.

Despite the issues, though, Bezzecchi – who is, like Bagnaia, a member of the VR46 Riders Academy – has insisted Bagnaia is among the best riders “that I saw in my life”.

Dani Pedrosa was feted by some of Bezzecchi's rivals, but he had other ideas.

“Of course, I agree with what they said about Dani [Pedrosa], I also shared the track with him when he made the wildcards,” Marco Bezzecchi said, the Italian responding to a question about the most technical riders he’d ever raced with after both Alex Marquez and Fabio Di Giannantonio voted for Pedrosa.

“But, to be honest,” the Aprilia Racing rider continued, “the rider that I was more impressed [by] was Pecco [Francesco Bagnaia].

“When he’s in great shape, he’s amazing. He can adapt so quick to the condition, but he’s also really fast to understand how to approach every corner during the race.

“He’s smooth, he’s strong in braking, but he can also carry a lot of entry speed, which is really difficult – it’s the most sensitive part of the riding.

“So, I think Pecco, when he’s in his form, is one of the best riders that I saw in my life.”