Метка: Marc Marquez

Marquez felt «comfortable from the beginning» on first day with factory Ducati

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Marc Marquez says he felt «very comfortable and very calm» on his first day with the works Ducati team, describing it as the best outfit in present-day MotoGP.

Having signed a two-year contract with the Italian factory, Marquez got his first taste of the Ducati GP25 in the official test at Barcelona on Tuesday.

Completing a total of 49 laps, including some on the championship-winning GP24, Marquez ended up fourth on the timesheets after posting a time of 1m39.454s late in the seven-hour session.

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The test was crucial for his preparation as it not only allowed him to acclimate with a development version of the bike that he would be racing in 2025, but also learn to work with new engineers at the factory Ducati team after a year with Gresini’s year-old GP23.

Summing up his thoughts, the six-time champion said: «I made a risky bet a year ago [leaving Honda] and now it was time to finish it off in the factory team. It [getting the Ducati deal] was the best news, and that has been a bit of the idea of the plan.

«The feelings with the team have been good, I felt comfortable from the beginning, very calm.

«The fact that I didn’t change factories or bikes and met a lot of engineers has made me feel comfortable. I’ve had that peace of mind all day.»

Marc Marquez, Ducati Team

Marc Marquez, Ducati Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

Marquez said he could immediately notice a difference between Ducati and its satellite squad Gresini, as he was now having to follow a more detailed run plan.

«Today was to go back to work a bit like a factory does, with a very strict plan, with everything established and knowing what you have to test and that’s where the rider is 100% available to work for the factory to give the best feedback,» he explained.

Marquez is reserving his judgement on whether there is a big difference between the performance of the title-winning 2023 bike and the new GP25 prototype that is being developed for the 2025 season.

«I have had a jump from ‘23 to ‘25, it is a new bike and the first outing on the track always requires more time to get everything ready,” he said.

“I’ve jumped to ‘24 twice, there are some differences. I think the ‘25 is more competitive, but we have to see it.»

Tuesday also marked the first day Marquez worked directly under Ducati team manager Davide Tardozzi, who has always had a soft spot for the Spaniard.

Marquez and Tardozzi represented rival manufacturers in MotoGP during the former’s time at Honda, when he defeated then-Ducati rider Andrea Dovizioso to the 2019 title.

«Davide is more in the sporting part and today we focused on technical issues, but without a doubt there are people I have known for more than 10 years and with whom I have always had a good relationship, before as rivals and now in the same team,» he said.

«It doesn’t change, we have a personal relationship. With the people inside the box very comfortable, very precise and 90% of the starts already testing the 2025 bike.»



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2024 Solidarity Barcelona MotoGP PHOTO

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2024 Solidarity Barcelona MotoGP

PHOTO: Daniel Ballarin / ASPPAIMAGES

The 2024 Solidarity motorcycle Grand Prix (officially known as the Motul Solidarity Grand Prix of Barcelona) was the twentieth and final round of the 2024 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. All races were held at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Montmeló on 17 November 2024.

In the MotoGP class, Jorge Martín, riding for the satellite Ducati team Prima Pramac Racing, clinched the Riders’ Championship during the main race.[1] He became the first rider since Valentino Rossi in 2001 and the first overall during the MotoGP era to win the Riders Championship with a satellite team.

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Details of Marc Marquez’s first test with factory Ducati emerge

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Marc Marquez will make his debut as a factory Ducati team rider in Tuesday’s official MotoGP test in Barcelona wearing an all-red suit without personal sponsorship branding on a one-off basis.

The Spaniard will start a new chapter in 2025 and will once again have all the muscle that drives a factory team after a season with Gresini, which is one of the most modest outfits on the grid, racing on a satellite GP23 bike.

The post-season test at Barcelona on Tuesday is an occasion that is likely to grab attention, because the expectation is that it will be comparable to the hype generated by Valentino Rossi’s debut with Yamaha at the Sepang test in 2004, and Marquez himself when he got to sample a Desmosedici for the first time in Valencia 12 months ago.

As Motorsport.com can reveal, Marquez will wear a red suit in the corporate colour of Ducati. The bike will also be painted red and will only bear his famous #93 number, plus the branding of Ducati, tyre supplier Michelin and exhaust supplier Akrapovic.

There will be no trace of Red Bull, one of Marquez’s most faithful sponsors in his career, as the energy drinks giant will stay on the sidelines given Ducati’s link with rival brand Monster.

Marc Marquez, Ducati Team

Marc Marquez, Ducati Team

Photo by: Oriol Puigdemont

The contract between Monster and Ducati expires in 2027, one year after the end of Marquez’s own deal with the Italian marque, making impossible for Marquez to continue with Red Bull at any event in which he represents Ducati.

In fact, on the spaces that are owned by the team – suit, cap and motorcycle – the Spaniard will have to incorporate the famous ‘green claw’ logo of American energy drinks maker Monster.

The only exception will be the helmet, where the place normally occupied by Red Bull will be taken over by the stickers of Estrella Galicia, which will also be featured on his water bottle. Monster approached Marquez and made an identical offer to the deal it has with Francesco Bagnaia, but Marquez turned it down.

Marquez also has a long-term agreement with sunglasses brand Oakley, but he won’t be able to use its glasses during his Ducati stint as it has a clashing deal with Carrera. Like Monster, Carrera also tried to bring the six-time MotoGP world champion to the list of athletes its sponsors, but he declined the offer.

Marquez will initially test the GP24 on Tuesday, the same prototype with which Bagnaia and Jorge Martin fought for the 2024 title, before switching to a hybrid version of the bike.

Marquez and Bagnaia will get to sample the GP25 in Malaysia at the beginning of February, and that specification of bike will be much closer to what they will race in the opening grand prix of 2025 in Thailand in March.

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«Impossible» to repeat dominant Honda years on factory Ducati

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Marc Marquez believes it would be impossible for him to replicate the success he enjoyed during his peak years at Honda when he joins the factory Ducati team in MotoGP next season.

For the first time since 2019, Marquez will be racing what is expected to be the best bike on the MotoGP grid, as he teams up with two-time champion Francesco Bagnaia at Ducati in 2025.

The Desmosedici has been in a class of its own this year, winning 18 of the 19 grands prix held so far. Only Maverick Vinales’ triumph on an Aprilia in the Americas GP prevented Ducati from completing a clean sweep.

Marquez has adapted well to the Ducati after spending 11 years on the Honda RC213V, winning three grands prix on last year’s GP23 bike and taking the fight to the latest spec bikes of Bagnaia, Enea Bastianini and Pramac’s Jorge Martin.

The Spaniard’s results are particularly impressive considering the other three riders racing the GP23 scored just two podiums between them, with VR46’s Fabio di Giannantonio the highest-placed rider among the trio in eighth, five spots behind Marquez.

While he will finally get parity of equipment with Bagnaia next year, Marquez doesn’t think it would mean he will be able to enjoy the same success as he did in 2019, when he won 12 races en route to his sixth premier class title.

«Well, it was a year that I had not found myself in my sporting career and I hope not to find myself again, but it may happen, because it may happen. A year of looking for answers,» he said of 2024.

Marc Marquez, Gresini Racing

Marc Marquez, Gresini Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

«I had a lot of questions in my head and it was a year of looking for answers. I have been finding them in a positive way because the main question was, am I still competitive enough to be in MotoGP? So that was yes, I’m still competitive.

«Logically it will be impossible to be the dominator like in 2019. Why? Because life happens for all of us who are here, the ones who are coming but we will try to keep that line as flat as possible to keep a high level in MotoGP and to stay competitive.»

Marquez’s impending move to Ducati has raised expectations from him, given how his success in the mid-to-late 2010s put him among the list of all-time greats in motorcycle racing.

But the current Gresini rider isn’t concerned by the weight of expectations on his shoulders, pointing out how fans assumed he will be a genuine title contender in 2024.

«Yes, there were also people who, when I announced that I was going to Gresini, said that I was going to be a winner all year. Then I said no,» he replied.

«And there were people who at Le Mans [and] Montmelo who said I would fight for the title. I said I’d like to say yes.»

Marquez remained in mathematical contention for the title for much of the year, even as Bagnaia and Martin were a step clear of the rest of the pack on their factory-spec GP24s.

The 31-year-old admitted that he himself thought that he had a chance to win the title, but by September it was clear to him that the championship was out of his reach.

«Obviously. I got to thinking because mathematically I had a chance, but then when I arrived at Mugello, Assen, I had the answer and my doubts were cleared and I said ‘I can’t, I can’t make it this year’,» he explained.

«Next year we’ll see, I have to do the pre-season and from there, before Thailand…»

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Marquez has previously stated that he is joining Ducati to learn from Bagnaia, who he believes will be the benchmark in the team.

But while playing down his chances for 2025, Marquez knows that he has to target the championship straight away as he returns to a factory team after a year on a satellite bike.

Asked if there will be no excuses at Ducati next year, he said: «No, no, I have the two best bullets in the next two years. I have the bike that has won the past years with the team that has won.

«Well, we will see this year, but at the end, it is the factory team. Then we’ll see, but for me, I don’t have to prove anything.

«For me, it’s about continuing to be competitive in MotoGP and to be fighting for those three positions.

«First, it will be the goal, logically, out of the corner of my eye, we’ll have to look at the title because we are obliged in a factory team to look at the title to see where we are.»

Photos from Barcelona GP — Thursday

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Valencia MotoGP race should be cancelled on ethical grounds

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Spanish star Marc Marquez has led a call by MotoGP riders for the world championship finale not to be staged at Valencia amid the heavy flood damage to have hit the region.

The race is scheduled to be held in two weeks on 15-17 November at Circuit Ricardo Tormo. While the circuit itself is understood to have escaped major issues, there is heavy damage to at least one of the access roads.

Although repairing the local infrastructure is probably a viable option, the feeling in the paddock ahead of this weekend’s Malaysian Grand Prix is that the finale is in doubt. There is a question mark around the deployment of local emergency services, which may be required for ongoing relief efforts, as well as the moral aspect of racing so soon after a catastrophe that has resulted in many lives being lost.

While MotoGP released a statement on Wednesday saying it is «committed to holding the event on the scheduled date» and emphasised solidarity with the victims at this point, riders including Marquez offered clear positions during Thursday’s media interviews at Sepang.

“Ethically speaking, I don’t think the Valencia Grand Prix should be held,” Marquez stated. “Now [the organisers] have to meet and decide, but [if it were up to me] I would have already decided: there would have to be another race, one to close the championship, but somewhere else.

“The only idea that would make sense would be if all the proceeds [from the event] went to the families [affected]…looking at the pictures from here, if money can be raised to help the people affected, then that would be the only logical option.

“As a Spaniard it is very difficult to see these images. We know that the area around the circuit has been badly damaged, but it doesn’t make sense to spend money on repairing that. Resources should go to helping people.”

Circuit Ricardo Tormo after flooding

Circuit Ricardo Tormo after flooding

Photo by: Paco Alcobendas

Aprilia rider Aleix Espargaro added that he would only be comfortable racing in Valencia if the event served as a fundraiser for the relief effort.

“Right now I think going there to race is the less important thing,” said Spain’s Espargaro, for whom the Valencia finale is scheduled to be a farewell before he heads into retirement.

“It’s not about the facilities. I think the facilities can be repaired. But the hospitals and the emergency [personnel deployment] are more important than to go there and do a sporting show.

“I think if we are able to go there and race, then somehow we have to help.

“We can handle it in different ways. If we can give something back to Valencia, for example if we donate our prize money, I would do it 100%. Or [maybe] Dorna can find some [other] way to help them.  

“It’s a very difficult situation. Hopefully Dorna and the government in Spain will take the right decision.”

Espargaro’s team-mate Maverick Vinales did not go so far as to say the race should be cancelled, but echoed his countrymen as far as the moral aspect was concerned.

“We’re in Malaysia and we need to race, but our minds are in Valencia,” said Vinales. “Racing is an aside: we’re praying for everyone who lost their homes or people. Racing in Valencia is not a priority.”

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“Aggressive” Marquez now has more respect for rivals on track

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Former MotoGP star Jorge Lorenzo believes Marc Marquez now displays more respect towards rivals while battling with them on track, having initially found his antics to be “very aggressive”.

Lorenzo was one of Marquez’s main rivals during his golden period in the 2010s, with the pair even becoming team-mates at Honda in the former’s final season in 2019.

Their careers have taken different turns since then, with Lorenzo going on to become a commentator for Spanish broadcaster DAZN and Marquez joining the Gresini Ducati team in 2024 after being saddled with injuries and an uncompetitive bike in his final years at Honda.

Lorenzo admitted that he wasn’t a fan of Marquez’s style of racing when the latter graduated to the premier class in 2013 as the reigning Moto2 champion, but feels his countryman has changed the way he rides against other riders over the years.

“In 2013, I didn’t accept his [Marc’s] way of racing, which was very aggressive,” the three-time champion said at Festival dello Sport in Italy. “Now he has a bit more ‘respect’ towards his rivals. It must be said that the rules are stricter than ten years ago.”

Marc Marquez, Repsol Hond and Jorge Lorenzo, Yamaha

Marc Marquez, Repsol Hond and Jorge Lorenzo, Yamaha

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

Marquez won six titles in his first seven years in MotoGP, with Lorenzo — then at Yamaha — the only rider to break his run when he triumphed in the controversial 2015 season.

Things started going downhill for Marquez after Lorenzo retired from MotoGP, with a horrific crash at the 2020 season opener in Jerez leaving him with career-altering injuries.

It took multiple surgeries and prolonged layoff periods to put the accident behind, but by the time he was close to full fitness the Honda RC213V had slumped to become the slowest bike on the grid.

Lorenzo believes Marquez would have been able to win several additional titles had his arm not been broken at Jerez four years ago.

“He is a beast on a sporting level,” he said of the 31-year-old. “Since 2020, he has had very bad luck in terms of his physical condition. Without those problems, he would have won at least two or three more world championships.”

Marquez’s struggles at Honda prompted him to leave the Japanese manufacturer with a year left on his contract and join Gresini at the start of the 2024 season.

Marc Marquez, Gresini Racing

Marc Marquez, Gresini Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

He will move up to the factory Ducati team next year, partnering Francesco Bagnaia, and will be in a position to challenge for the championship for the first time since 2019.

Lorenzo himself spent two seasons with Ducati in 2017-18 as part of a multi-million deal with the aim of leading the Borgo Panigale marque to its first title since 2007.

Although the Spaniard did hit his stride in his second season after a slow adaptation, the partnership ultimately ended with just three wins to boot.

He ended up moving to Honda for what turned out to be his final year in the premier class, while Ducati slowly turned the Desmosedici into a dominant bike.

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Hailing Ducati’s general manager Gigi Dall’Igna, Lorenzo said he would have been able to achieve the target set out by Ducati had he stayed with the team for a few more seasons.

“We met in 2004, in my last year in 125cc. Fate brought us together at Ducati,” he said of Dall’Igna. “I was very sorry not to have won a title with the Italian brand. I am convinced that, if I had stayed two more years, we would have won it.

“Now it is the best bike. It has no weak points.”



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How Marquez is the only MotoGP rider keeping the ‘old’ Ducati alive

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The debate about to what extent the MotoGP riders who started the 2024 season with the latest Ducati specification had an advantage is still alive, although somewhat less than a few months ago when the Borgo Panigale brand had to decide who would partner Francesco Bagnaia in 2025 as second factory rider.

Enea Bastianini’s poor start to the year left Jorge Martin and Marquez as the main candidates to take his place, and in the end, it was the latter who won the battle. According to Ducati, one of the most important reasons for choosing the Catalan, who at that time in Mugello had not yet won a race, was the performance he was able to demonstrate with a 2023 bike which, on paper, is inferior in performance to this year’s prototype.

«The Ducati engineers saw my progression with the 2023 bike; that outweighed the rest,» said Marquez, just after being confirmed as a factory rider for next year. «According to Gigi [Dall’Igna, Ducati’s general manager], the element that tipped the balance was what I saw on the track; my progression and ability to improve.»

Although Dall’Igna himself has acknowledged that the GP24 can indeed be considered a better bike than its predecessor, there are still those who dare to question or relativise it.

«We have definitely improved the GP24 in those aspects where the GP23 was a bit weaker,» agreed Dall’Igna in August during the British Grand Prix, where Ducati introduced the last package of updates before stopping its development to let Bagnaia and Martin play for the title with the bikes they already know. «I have to say that the factory guys have done a really good job,» added Dall’Igna.

A detailed look at the trace left so far by the two models, and a comparison with what happened in last year’s championship, not only supports Dall’Igna’s comments, but practically settles the debate. Especially because of the four riders competing on a GP23, only Marquez has been able to withstand the push from those on the GP24, especially in the second half of the season.

Marc Marquez, Gresini Racing Team

Marc Marquez, Gresini Racing Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

The comparison between the statistics produced by the GP22 in 2023, and those left by the GP23 in 2024, confirms that the leap in quality of the 2024 bike over the 2023 is much greater than the one between the 2022 prototype and the 2023 one.

Last year, among the four riders who competed in the championship with the ‘old’ Ducati (GP22), they scored a total of four wins (three Bezzecchi and one Di Giannantonio), 13 podiums, three pole positions (two Marini and one Alex Marquez) and 15 front row starts.

These four victories account for 23.6% of the total of 17 wins for the Bolognese manufacturer. That proportion rises to 30.2% in podiums (13 of Ducati’s 43 total podiums). It is also worth noting that, in addition, all four riders were able to climb onto the podium on a Sunday, and all of them started at least once from the front row.

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On the other hand, those percentages drop in 2024 with those who are currently riding the old version (GP23). And of those, only Marquez keeps that Desmosedici close. Last year’s specification has only won twice (Aragon and Misano) — always in the hands of the #93 rider — and that results in 13.3% of Ducati’s total number of victories (15).

As for the number of podiums, of the Italian manufacturer’s 48 total so far, only 10 (20.8%) belong to GP23s, eight of them by Marquez.



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2024 Moto Grand Prix Aragon PHOTO

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Gran Premio GoPro de Aragon Semptember 1

PHOTO: Daniel Ballarin / ASPPAIMAGES

1043 days, multiple surgeries, a change of team and factory later, and Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) is back on the top step of the Grand Prix podium. The #93 dominated the majority of the Gran Premio GoPro de Aragon including a stunning first Tissot Sprint win, but being the fastest isn’t a guarantee of glory. Come Sunday, however, Marquez shot off the line for the holeshot and never looked back, underlining one of the greatest comebacks in MotoGP™ history.

Why Marquez is willing to crash to improve his pace on Ducati MotoGP bike

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Gresini rider Marc Marquez says he doesn’t mind crashing often in qualifying sessions as it is important for him to learn new things and improve his pace on Ducati’s MotoGP bike.

Marquez lost control of his GP23 prototype into Turn 3 with a little under 10 minutes to go into Q2, forcing him to dash to the pitlane and hop on his second bike — which he had already shunted in final practice earlier on Saturday.

Ultimately, the Spaniard was unable to improve on the benchmark he had set earlier in the session, leaving him seventh on the grid and behind the same-spec GP23 bike of VR46 Ducati rider Marco Bezzecchi.

It was the second MotoGP round in succession where the six-time MotoGP champion had qualified out of position due to a mistake of his own making, with a similar incident in the first Misano round forcing him to start from the outside of the third row.

However, Marquez said he has to accept that he will be crashing often because, with championship protagonists Francesco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin running in a class of their own, it is important for him to fully address his own weaknesses.

Asked to explain why he has been having frequent accidents in qualifying, the 31-year-old replied: «Because life is like this: try, [make an] error, try, [make an] error.

«The problem is that for learning [we need to make mistakes]. We are trying things in front of millions of people. But we need to accept that. But I will keep trying.

Marc Marquez, Gresini Racing

Marc Marquez, Gresini Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

«I feel uncomfortable but I need to understand why I feel uncomfortable. If it’s because I don’t put enough load [on tyres or I put] too much load [on tyres].

«Unlucky for me that I crashed at Turn 3 in qualifying practice because in the race also I had a moment there.

«My life is like this and I will try. I have the confidence of victories and then I will try in Indonesia. Maybe I will finish again on the gravel, we will see. But I hope to improve for the future.»

Marquez explained that it’s the behaviour of the new tyres that makes him «uncomfortable» on the bike — and that explains why he is stronger in race trim than over a single lap.

It’s also the reason why he has been trying new things on the bikes, which ultimately led to the crash that left him over eight-tenths off pole position in qualifying.

He said: «I felt uncomfortable with the new tyre during all the season. When the tyre have [done] six-seven laps, ]in] some corners I’m faster than [I’m] with the new tyre. So it’s there where we need to understand and we need to try a few things.

«This GP we started to try small things on the electronics to understand my riding style. But it’s true that I feel uncomfortable with the amazing grip on the rear that I was not used [to] all my career.

«The way to do the time attack all my career, my concept was completely different with another bike [Honda]. So this is the hardest point to change.»

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Marquez was able to make amends for his qualifying error by charging up to fourth by the second lap, but he lacked the pace to fight for a spot on the podium.

A late off-track moment left him under serious pressure from Tech3 GasGas’s Pedro Acosta but he was able to fend him off the KTM rookie to safeguard fourth place.

Marquez spent the final years of his Honda career with what had become the slowest bike on the grid, making it near-impossible for him to break inside the top five.

But the shift to last year’s Ducati has suddenly made him more competitive and he feels he is now more willing to try new things on the bike knowing that there are better results to be had.

«Of course the fact [that you can] win races, the fact [that you can] fight for the top [positions] gives you more confidence to try things.

«In the past, if you try [new things] but you don’t feel like [you will] never arrive [to the front], and then you start to try less. But now the good things arrive. I try when I need to try.

«And [with] qualifying practice, it’s a session that you need to try. Today I did the [initial] lap time and then I pushed a bit more. Yesterday I did the lap time and I know that I was already on the P3.

«But the only mistake I didn’t like today was one in FP2. But [with] the qualifying practice [error], it’s like this.»



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