Marco Bezzecchi
Marc Marquez enjoyed the perfect start to life as a Ducati rider as he dominated the Thailand Grand Prix.
The Spaniard went into the season opener as a firm title favourite along with teammate Francesco Bagnaia. But Marquez has been diplomatic about his championship targets and deflected the conversation away from him.
The six-time MotoGP champion has been slowly building back up to the front after his injury in 2020 with Honda. Marquez had struggled to perform in his final few seasons with the manufacturer before joining Gresini in 2024.
Producing three wins and 10 podiums on year-old machinery last year, the 32-year-old has stepped up to the factory Ducati team. He replaces Enea Bastianini after Ducati snubbed champion Jorge Martin for Marquez.
Racing in red, Marquez has his best chance to become champion again since his crash at Jerez five years ago. He wasted no time asserting his dominance at the 2025 season-opening Thailand Grand Prix.
The Spaniard grabbed pole position and won the Sprint race on Saturday ahead of brother Alex Marquez and Bagnaia. The top three remainder the same in the main race as Marquez grabbed maximum points in Buriram.
Marc Marquez’s entourage suggest Ducati ‘forced’ him to dominate Thailand Grand Prix due to tyre pressure issue
Marquez’s win in the race was not plain sailing, however. The Ducati rider was overtaken by his brother in the early stages due to a tyre pressure issue.
The 32-year-old held position before overtaking Alex Marquez with a handful of laps to go. According to journalist Oriol Puigdemont via Tank Slappers, Marc Marquez’s entourage suggested he did not want to show ‘that level of dominance’.
Puigdemont claims that Marquez was ‘forced’ to show it due to his tyre pressures – he was comfortable ‘cruising’ while his rivals were at ‘full gas’.
“My feeling, asking and talking to different people from his entourage and from Ducati. I have the feeling that he didn’t want to show that level of dominance.
“He was forced to do it because of the tyre pressures. Because, as I say, what happened on Sunday was a proper statement.
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“But he was fine on winning the race just consoling, cruising and crossing the line with, let’s say two or three seconds, without the need of letting his brother past.
“Don’t forget that what happened with the tyre pressure is that he was cruising. Where the others were like this, I mean full gas and really close to making a mistake, he was cruising. That’s why the tyre pressure didn’t go up, so he had to do something.”
Marc Marquez proved his mother’s prediction from 2020 right with his Thailand win
Marquez can build great momentum after his victory in Buriram. The next two rounds in Argentina and Austin are two strong circuits for the Spaniard as he looks to have the upper hand on teammate Bagnaia.
Marc Marquez’s mother is unsettled by her son being called the champion already after just one round. Roser Alenta is cautious that Bagnaia can still fight back and mount a challenge.
But Thailand would no doubt have been an emotional weekend for the Marquez family. Father Julia Marquez was ‘overwhelmed’ watching his sons make history as the first brothers to finish one and two in the premier class.
Alenta’s prediction from 2020 has been proven right by Marquez’s win in Buriram – she had told him ‘everything will work out’ after his injury at Jerez.
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