Double MotoGP wor🧜ld champion Francesco Bagnaia says he “wouldn’t rule out” the prospect of having to fight Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo at the front of the field in 2025.

Bagnaia rema𓂃ins with the factory Ducati squad next season but will ﷽start the new campaign not as the defending champion for the first time since 2022.

Though he won 11 grands prix last season, Bagnaia ultimately came𓂃 up 10 poin🦩ts short of outgoing Pramac Ducati rider Jorge Martin.

Next year, Bagnaia faces his toughest challenge yet as he goes up against Marc Marquez on equal machinery when the latteꦺr steps into the factory Ducati garage.

Speaking on feꦬllow VR46 Academy member Andrea Migno’s podcast, Bagnaia says he is predicting lots of “solo” races between himself and Marquez.

However, he also pinpointed a surprise name he is anti𓃲cipating to cause𓄧 him problems.

🎃“My next 🐬goal is to win three MotoGP world championships,” he said.

“What will happen in 2025? Ducati will be the bike 𒆙to beat, but they’ll have one less factory bike.

“I expect a lot of races with only me and Marquez solo, but Aprilia has a new duo [Martin and Marco Bezzecc🐻hi], and K༺TM can count on [Pedro] Acosta and [Brad] Binder.

“I w𒅌ouldn’t rule out Quartararo either, since Yamaha is improving.”

Bagnaia and Quartararo battled for the championship in 2022, with the former overturning a 91-point deficit at the halfway stag♛e of that season as the competitiveness of the Yamaha started to fade.

Yamaha endured its worst season i🅺n the modern era in 2024, as it came away with no podiums for the first time in what was also its second consecutive winless ✤campaign.

It scored just 124 points in the constructors’ standings, down from 196 s♏cored in 2023, though constant development of the M1 did see it enjoy a stronger end to 2024, with Quartararo scoring a season-best sixth in Malaysia.

Quartararo was also effortlessly the top rider from a Japanese marque in the standings in 13th - 58 points clear of LCR’s Johan𓆉n Zarco.

He will remain with Yamaha until the end of 2026, with Quartararo praising 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:the brand’s mentality change in regards to bike development as the biggest step it made this year.