Marco Bezzecchi
Marc Marquez has already made a huge impression on Ducati since joining the team in 2025.
The six-time MotoGP champion moved to the factory team from Gresini last season after enjoying his season since his 2019 title win. Marquez finished third on the year-old GP23 with three wins and 10 podiums.
The 32-year-old was the only rider who mounted a challenge to Jorge Martin and Francesco Bagnaia in 2024. Now on the factory Ducati next to Bagnaia, he is one of the favourites to win the championship.
Marquez snubbed Martin of the Ducati seat with his ‘beastly’ pull as a six-time champion – and he could not have asked for a better start to life at the Bologna-based team.
Marquez started the 2025 season in fine style at the Thailand Grand Prix. He grabbed pole position and the Sprint and main race win ahead of his brother Alex Marquez and Bagnaia.
While the Spaniard has already shown he can be dominant with Ducati, some within the team have been taken aback by just how strong of an impact he has made.
Some Ducati insiders are surprised by Marc Marquez’s ‘boom’ similar to Valentino Rossi
Speaking with Motorsport/com Espana, journalist Oriol Puigdemont says some people within Ducati are ‘surprised’ by the impact Marquez has had on the team.
Labelling him the Valentino Rossi of today, Puigdemont says they have been ‘caught by surprise’ by the ‘boom’ Marquez has produced.
“I mean, we saw it in Malaysia, we saw the expectation that it generates and let’s not forget one thing,” he said.
“That is, in Ducati, and I’m telling you this because I know that in Ducati, they are something that I don’t understand.
“They are surprised by the impact that Marquez has. I don’t want to say who is better or who is worse of who is this or that, but Marc Marquez today is Valentino Rossi, Hamilton, or in his day Michael Schumacher.
“And in Ducati, not all of them, but it’s like they’ve been caught by surprise by the boom.”
Marc Marquez’s surprise admission about his Ducati bike at the Thailand Grand Prix
Riding the GP25 with the 2024 engine, Marquez has a huge chance to match Rossi’s record of seven MotoGP titles. Ducati bikes won all but one race in 2024 and they are set to have another dominant year this year.
The 32-year-old commanded the field in Buriram as he faced little competition. But surprisingly, Marquez told his engineers he felt slow on his bike during the Sprint race.
In the Grand Prix on Sunday, the Spaniard lost his lead to brother Alex Marquez after suffering a tyre pressure issue. Marquez’s entourage said he was ‘forced’ to dominate the race due to the problem – he was happy ‘cruising’ while others were at ‘full gas’.
Marquez has a great opportunity to give himself a great advantage in the championship early doors. Argentina and Austin are strong tracks for the 32-year-old, with Sylvain Guintoli claiming Qatar is Bagnaia’s ‘best chance’ to beat his teammate.
Receive racing news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
