Francesco Bagnaia is starting to feel like himself again! The Ducati rider admitted this after an intense first-lap battle with Marc Marquez during the Americas GP sprint race. Although Marquez led every lap, keeping his 2025 winning streak alive, Bagnaia put up a strong challenge, managing to overtake his teammate three times in just the opening lap.

Even with a third-place finish behind Alex Marquez, Bagnaia was thrilled with his performance. Managing to fight his teammate at a track where Marquez dominates gave him a much-needed confidence boost.

Bagnaia started the sprint from the second row and took off like a rocket, seizing the lead from Marc Marquez at the very first corner. However, Marquez quickly managed to take the lead back in the next turn.

"The start was perfect," Bagnaia said in an interview with MotoGP.com. "I was precise with the lights, and when I saw the gap, I took it. I stopped well, but he crossed back in front. Still, making that kind of start was a great sign."

Then came the Ducati highlight of his race—a bold move at Turn 3, where he reclaimed the lead once again. This caught Marquez off guard.

"I don’t think he expected it, which made it even more fun," Bagnaia admitted to Sky Sports. "Passing Marc at COTA? That’s a sign my confidence is coming back. And I did it twice!"

Marc Marquez himself admitted after the race that he was surprised by the move.

"I didn’t expect that move at Turn 3," he told Motorsport.com. "Then I took back the lead at Turn 7 – I had to!"

Yet for them, the action wasn’t over. Just a few moments later, Marquez made a mistake where he almost crashed out. This mistake gave Alex Marquez and Bagnaia room to take the lead. However, in classic Marquez fashion, he recovered and took the lead back at the final turn.

"I couldn’t believe it!" Bagnaia said. "One second, he’s nearly crashing, and the next, he’s leading again. If he had gone down, he would’ve taken me out too!"

Even though Bagnaia didn’t win the sprint, one thing is clear—his confidence is returning. Hopefully, he will surprise us in Sunday’s race. We’ll just have to wait and see!