Bagnaia expects Alex Marquez to be “a great rival” in COTA MotoGP sprint race

Bagnaia spent much of the Q2 session in Texas battling with Gresini Ducati counterpart Marquez, with the pair setting identical 2m02.242s laps with around eight minutes left on the clock.

As both began their final run, Marquez followed Bagnaia out of pitlane, which prompted the latter to stop in order to prevent the Spaniard from using him as a reference.

Bagnaia ultimately…