Mat Oxley tells Marc Marquez to follow famous Stirling Moss advice after latest Ducati crash

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Marc Marquez did not win a race he finished for the first time as a Ducati rider at the Grand Prix of Spain when another crash cost him the lead of the 2025 championship.

The 32-year-old has dominated MotoGP since Marquez moved from Gresini to replace Enea Bastianini in the works Ducati team this year. Yet despite winning each of the first five Sprint Races and three of the first five Grands Prix, he trails his brother Alex Marquez by one point.

Gresini rider Alex Marquez took full advantage of Marc Marquez crashing whilst third in the Spanish GP last Sunday to go on to claim the 29-year-old’s first premier class race win plus regain the championship lead. He also initially led the standings after Marc crashed at COTA.

Just like at Jerez, Alex Marquez led the MotoGP championship for the first time in his career by capitalising on his elder brother’s mistake when Marc Marquez crashed in the lead of the Grand Prix of the Americas. But unlike in Austin, the elder brother recovered to P12 at Jerez.

Mat Oxley urges Marc Marquez to accept ‘To finish first, first you must finish’ after his Jerez crash

Marquez has admitted since the Spanish GP that it ‘weighs on me’ that the six-time premier class champion does not lead the 2025 riders’ standings despite his form for Ducati. Instead, he is a point behind his brother who has come second in every Sprint and three Grands Prix.

READ MORE: Everything to know about Marc Marquez from net worth to girlfriend

So, Mat Oxley feels Ducati must make Marquez accept the famous viewpoint that F1 legend Sir Stirling Moss stressed. The Briton, widely regarded as the greatest driver never to win an F1 title, emphasised that if you want to be successful, then you need to first finish the race.

Oxley suggested in his column for Motor Sport Magazine: “I have a recommendation for Ducati. You know those motivational stickers that some riders have on their triple clamps like, ‘Push’? Marquez needs a sticker that says, ‘To finish first, first you must finish’.”

Marc Marquez only has to look at Francesco Bagnaia to see how crashing can cost him the 2025 title

Marquez just has to look across to the other half of the Ducati garage to know that failing to bring home the results on offer can cost him a MotoGP title. Francesco Bagnaia’s mistakes in the 2024 season haunted his honeymoon during the winter after losing out to Jorge Martin.

While Bagnaia won more Grands Prix than any rider last year with 11 out of 20 and also won as many Sprint Races as Martin with seven each, the Italian failed to claim his third title in as many years as the Spaniard took 508 points to his 498 to take the championship for Pramac.

Bagnaia has now learned from paying the price for his mistakes last season and will bring his bike home rather than crashing chasing a better result. Marquez has not yet made the same decision after crashing at Jerez trying to stay with Fabio Quartararo of Yamaha plus Bagnaia.