What Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo said after Marc Marquez’s ‘almost perfect’ Qatar Grand Prix debut

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Marc Marquez returns to the site of his MotoGP debut at the Grand Prix of Qatar this weekend. The Honda rider immediately announced himself with a podium finish in Lusail.

Marquez had beaten fellow Spaniard Pol Espargaro to the Moto2 title the previous year. He was joining a Honda team that had finished second and third in the world championship with Dani Pedrosa and Casey Stoner.

Thus, the hype was considerable, but Marquez lived up to it. He lost ground initially, having qualified sixth, but climbed up to P2.

Valentino Rossi had slid off the road early on and battled Marquez for the first time as he came back through the field. Rossi eventually prevailed in their tussle as Jorge Lorenzo streaked clear at the front.

Valentino Rossi was worried about Marc Marquez after his Qatar Grand Prix debut

Rossi and Marquez would become bitter rivals, but the mutual respect was evident after the latter’s starring premier-class bow. The prescient Yamaha rider realised he’d need to hoover up the points before Honda’s new signing hit his stride.

“I was thinking that, seeing what I have seen today, I will have to try to beat him as much as I can in the first half of the championship, because when he starts to feel comfortable it is going to be very difficult for me to surpass him,” Rossi said, via El Pais.

Meanwhile, race winner Lorenzo expressed his surprise that Marquez had beaten Pedrosa immediately. Pedrosa was, at that point, a 22-time race-winner.

“I thought Pedrosa would be on the podium, and he wasn’t because there is a lot of competition,” he said. “Marquez had an almost perfect debut, he is very good.

Two weeks later in Austin, Marquez produced an even better showing to score his maiden victory. He would go on to become the first rookie champion in Grand Prix racing since Kenny Roberts in 1978.

Marc Marquez immediately proved himself wrong in first MotoGP race

Before the race, Marquez had tried to play down expectations. He said he would ‘need some time’ to adapt to the step-up from Moto2.

But in reality, he was on the pace immediately. He was the quickest rider in practice and fought with the most successful rider on the grid on race day.

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More than 190 races later, Marquez is still in supreme physical condition. He’s fallen to second in the championship after his Americas GP crash but he remains the overall title favourite.

Marquez is looking to become MotoGP’s oldest champion this season at 32. That would break the record set by Rossi in 2009.