The beginning of 2025 means the beginning of new contract cycles, and for Marc Marquez it means he is now officially a factory Ducati rider, able to take advantage of the benefits that brings away from the MotoGP paddock.

To kick his year off, Marquez hit the track with the all-new 2025 Ducati Panigale V2, down on power compared to the old bike but also down on weight thanks to the new twin-cylinder engine, the lightest V-twin motor Ducati has ever produced.

Marquez was out on track at the Aspar Circuit in Valencia, which was opened last year, along with some other Grand Prix talent.

The eight-times World Champion’s riding partners on this occasion included reigning Moto3 World Champion David Alonso on an old-model Yamaha R6; Dani Holgado, Izan Guevara, Tony Arbolino, Alex Marquez, and Sergio Garcia on 2017-shape R6s; and Marquez’s protege Max Quiles and Angel Piqueras on Honda CBR600RRs.

There have been less talented groups in the history of track days, for sure.

As well as a solid day of on-bike training, the time at Aspar Circuit was also Marquez’s first laps spent on-board a Ducati road bike for training, having stuck with unbranded Hondas last year.

The Spaniard’s teammate, Francesco Bagnaia, more often trains with the Panigale V4 R superbike, but we haven’t seen Marquez out on that yet (aside from last year’s Race of Champions at World Ducati Week where everyone raced the new-for-2025 variant of the Panigale V4).

The Spaniard still rides Honda CRF motocross bikes, but change could be coming on that front, too, with Ducati’s Desmo450 MX dirt bike set to enter production later this year.