Marc Márquez Still Ducati's MotoGP Title Favorite, Says Pirro

Pirro Backs Márquez Despite British GP Setbacks

Michele Pirro, Ducati's veteran test rider and one of the team's most trusted insiders, has publicly confirmed that Marc Márquez remains the Lenovo factory squad's primary candidate for the MotoGP world title. The endorsement came despite Márquez having a difficult outing at Silverstone, where the Spaniard failed to deliver the results many expected from him.

Pirro's comments carry weight inside the paddock. He works closely with Ducati's technical staff and rides the factory Desmosedici in wildcard appearances, giving him a front-row view of how the team evaluates its riders. His verdict: Silverstone was a bump in the road, not a reason to write off Márquez's championship bid.

What Went Wrong at Silverstone

The British Grand Prix weekend was not kind to Márquez. Silverstone has historically produced unpredictable conditions and grip levels that can expose setup weaknesses, and the eight-time world champion appeared to struggle to extract the full potential from his Ducati across the race weekend. The exact finishing positions were not detailed in the original report, but the overall assessment from within the Ducati camp was that it fell short of expectations.

That kind of candid admission from a team insider is relatively rare. Pirro did not deflect or spin the result. He acknowledged the difficulties while making clear they had not changed his reading of who leads Ducati's internal title race.

Why Márquez Remains the Benchmark

Marc Márquez joined the Ducati factory team for the 2025 season after a transitional year with the Gresini satellite squad, where he showed enough pace and consistency to earn the promotion. His raw speed on the Desmosedici has been evident at multiple rounds, and his ability to adapt quickly to new machinery impressed the Ducati hierarchy early in the season.

Pirro's backing suggests that confidence has not eroded inside the garage. For a team that also fields other competitive riders, singling out Márquez as the favorite is a meaningful internal signal. It points to the kind of institutional support that can shape how resources and development priorities are allocated across the second half of the season.

The MotoGP championship is decided over a long calendar with sprint races adding extra points opportunities at every round. A single poor weekend, even at a high-profile venue like Silverstone, rarely derails a title challenge outright. What matters more is how a rider and team respond in the rounds that follow.

Márquez has a well-documented record of bouncing back after difficult results. His career is built on stretches of dominance broken up by setbacks he has consistently converted into motivation. Whether that pattern holds through the rest of 2025 will define whether Pirro's confidence proves justified.

For bettors and fans tracking the title race, the Ducati team's internal hierarchy is worth watching closely as the calendar moves into its second half.