Marc Marquez aims to ‘mentally defeat’ rivals, not play games, in MotoGP title battle

Marc Marquez came into MotoGP’s summer break on a hot streak. He has strung together five consecutive doubles – winning both the sprint and Sunday races at Aragon, Mugello, Assen, the Sachsenring and Brno. That run has catapulted him into a lead of 120 points over second-placed Alex Marquez, his brother.

So far this season, factory Ducati rider Marc has won eight of the 12 grand prix races and 11 of the sprints – only missing out on the latter at Silverstone. That gives him 66.6% of Sunday race wins and 91.6% of Saturday sprint wins, meaning he has come out on top in 79.1% of the 24 contests held this year.

No other rider on the grid has won more than one grand prix this season: Pecco Bagnaia triumphed at Austin, Alex Marquez at Jerez, Johann Zarco at Le Mans and Marco Bezzecchi at Silverstone. The British weekend was thus the only one on which Marc didn’t win at least one of the races.

In addition to his eight perfect 37-point weekends, Marquez also scored the most points in France (32), despite ceding the Sunday race to Zarco. He was outscored only at Austin, Jerez and in the United Kingdom.

With stats like that, no one doubts that Marc has already calculated when and where he could seal the 2025 MotoGP title. When asked directly, however, he avoids projecting the dominance he so clearly displays on track.

“I’m not going to say where or when I want to clinch the title. Honestly, I’m approaching the final 10 races of the season after the summer break with the mindset that I’m the only one who can lose this championship.

“So, if we have to manage things, we will. But if we can win, we’ll absolutely go for it,” said the Spanish rider.

Marquez doesn’t enjoy winning alone and unchallenged as much as he does fighting wheel to wheel – like he did in the German sprint against Bezzecchi, or the Brno races, when he battled both the Italian and Pedro Acosta. It’s a scenario in which he seems at ease, and one he sometimes even seems to seek out.

He doesn’t exactly deny that search for a scrap when questioned about it. But it’s not a simple question to answer. Marquez has had to drop behind other riders on more than one occasion this season in order to increase his tyre pressures. Still, he says, following others is still a challenge.

“Out of respect for my rivals – who are all fast – I won’t answer that. At Brno, I wasn’t comfortable behind Bezzecchi. In the old MotoGP, you could follow a rider more easily. But now, with the aerodynamics, it’s really uncomfortable to ride behind someone. That’s why everyone wants to be in front.

“Look at Pecco – he couldn’t pass Acosta. And I struggled to get past Bezzecchi. I managed it because I had half-a-second margin,” Marc explained, before adding, “I’ll sign up to keep going like this, without playing games. If you play, sometimes you get burned.”

“Earn the respect of your rivals”

Marc Marquez, Ducati Team

Photo by: Ducati Corse

Marquez’s dominance this season has been extraordinary, even more than during his best years with Honda. And if his rivals often appear defeated before the races even begin, that’s exactly how he wants it.

“As a rider, that’s what you aim for – for your rivals to come into the race mentally beaten. But that’s very hard to achieve. As an athlete, what you’re really looking for is to keep on gaining their… I wouldn’t say fear, but respect. And that’s not earned with microphones – it’s earned during practice and races, by always being at the front.”

In some ways, this version of Marc seems more composed, as if the tough experience of the big injury he picked up in 2020 has softened his character.

“Now I’m a bit calmer. I think things through a bit more – just a bit!” he laughs. “Obviously, you change between 20 and 30. But when you go through what I’ve been through [injury], you reflect more before making decisions in the heat of the moment, especially on the track.”