This press conference of the Grand Prix From the Netherlands MotoGP 2025 met in Assen Marc Marquez , Marco Bezzecchi et Francis Bagnaia for their debriefing, after another almost perfect weekend for the #93 which won the Sprint and the GP.
Marc Marquez won his 94th victory in all categories, and his 68th in MotoGP, equaling Giacomo Agostini, who is the second most successful rider in the premier class. He achieved his sixth double (Sprint and GP victories) of the season, thus breaking the record for the most doubles in a single season set by Francis Bagnaia last year. He now leads the world championship with 307 points, 68 ahead of his brother Alex Marquez and 126 ahead Francis Bagnaia.
As usual, we report here in full the words of the latter, without the slightest formatting, even if it is translated from English.
🎤 Good morning everyone, ladies and gentlemen. You are joining us for Sunday's post-race press conference following the Dutch MotoGP Grand Prix here at the Assen TT Circuit. Congratulations once again to Ducati Lenovo Team rider Marc Marquez on his double success in 2025. Aprilia Racing rider Marco Bezzecchi finished second in this Grand Prix. Marco had a great weekend here in Assen after his podium finish in yesterday's sprint. The podium was completed by Ducati Lenovo Team rider Pecco Bagnaia, who finished third. Gentlemen, congratulations to all three of you!
🎤 Completing the podium today was factory Ducati rider Pecco Bagnaia. Pecco, you set the fastest lap in qualifying, so the speed was definitely there. You had the pace, but unfortunately, I'm sure it's not the result you were hoping for, but it's another podium as part of this rebuilding process. So, what were your thoughts on today's race?
“I feel like for the first time this season I had the fastest pace all weekend, and my pace was the fastest with Marco’s. But then in the race I finished in the same place as usual (laughs). I more or less always struggle the same way: I’m there, I’m fighting, I can fight and attack in the first laps, but then I feel a little drop that penalizes me a little bit in the middle of the race, and then I’m able to be fast again. But in any case, Marc is doing a fantastic job with this bike, I’m having more trouble finding the balance of this bike, knowing exactly how last year’s bike was, and I’m just struggling on it. But we’re working; for the second week in a row I was fast enough to fight in the first laps and we just have to take the positives, and when we arrive, we’ll arrive. I’m pretty confident, we’re not that far away and we’re getting closer.”
It's also true that we're now going to move on to circuits where Marc is very fast, like the Sachsenring. But let's see, as he said, this season, apart from Aragon, he's very fast where he normally struggles and he struggles a little more where he used to be very fast, so we'll see. Let's try to be competitive on the circuits where I've always been competitive, but we'll see this season."
🎤 What is that last piece of the puzzle you're missing? And do you feel like you're getting closer to the solution?
“I think I have trouble braking on corner entry with this bike. And on this track, it's all about the braking inputs, because the corners are very fast. So that's where I suffer: I can't stop the bike where and when I want, I have to let it widen a little, not exactly in the ideal place to be able to accelerate again. I really struggle with that.
But it's true that we're improving session after session. However, after ten races, we're still at the same point. We just need to take an extra step during the race."
🎤 Pecco, in this fight with Pedro, you said last week that after 6 or 7 laps, you felt a drop in performance from the front tire. This time, you stayed behind Pedro for those 6-7 laps, then you attacked again with a very good pace, sometimes even catching up a little with the two leading riders. In two laps, you set the best time. What's happening with the front tire?
“Pedro was experiencing a drop in pace, and at that point, I felt a little better. It's a question of taking risks when you're following someone. Unfortunately, this season, I'm finding it harder to stay behind another rider. As soon as I get closer, I feel that the front of the bike is out of place. There's movement, locking, and a lot of understeer, which complicates everything.
I really wanted to finish on the podium, and my pace was faster than the riders in front of me. So I just tried to be perfect and smooth until Turn 12. Then I tried to enter Turn 15 really fast, and I used the speed I had built up in that corner to overtake him.
But when I'm following another rider this season, the front of the bike moves a lot, there's a lot of movement, and it's not easy. And when you're following a rider whose pace is very close to yours, it's even more difficult to close the gap."
🎤 We've seen and heard about some amazing bikes that have been ridden here, like Uncini's, Barry Sheene's, the Paton, John Kocinsky's Cagiva: which one would you choose to ride here for a few laps and why?
“The Cagiva 500 is one of the most beautiful bikes ever built, but I would really like to try Alex Barros' Honda 500 on the old Assen track, against a MotoGP bike! (laughs)”
🎤 At the end of the Moto3 race, did race control make a mistake by waiting so long to bring out the red flag?
"When a rider is on the ground after a big crash, he doesn't get up and the marshals are around him, you have to bring out the red flag as quickly as possible. And under no circumstances give the other riders the opportunity to arrive on the scene and attack as was the case. For me, it was quite obvious, seen from the outside, observing what was happening, that the red flag had to be brought out. Because Lunetta was on the ground, visibly injured, and I didn't understand why they let the other riders continue to attack on their bikes. So, strange."
🎤 Pecco, do you feel your confidence returning or will it take two or three more Grands Prix in the right direction to get back to a similar level to last year?
“From Aragon until now, it’s true that we’ve regained the level of performance I had at the beginning of the season. I lost a lot of confidence at Le Mans and Silverstone, because I didn’t understand what was going on. But the last two or three Grands Prix, Aragon, Mugello, and this weekend, have been the best of my season. I was able to push hard, I had a very good pace both with new tires and with used tires, so I was more confident. Confidence is coming back little by little.”
But it's true that a bike's DNA is difficult to change, and I've decided to stop trying to change it too much, because you end up making mistakes that way. It's easier to adapt to what you have in your hands and try to get the best out of your machine. It's not easy for me, because I need a lot more stability when I release the brakes, and with this bike it's more complicated. But we're improving from race to race, and I hope that in the next two or three events I can finally feel really comfortable."
MotoGP Dutch Grand Prix 2025 results:
Classification credit: MotoGP.com
MotoGP Assen Debriefing Francesco Bagnaia MotoGP Assen Debriefing Francesco Bagnaia
