Miguel Oliveira tells Marc Marquez ‘things would be different’ if one rival was on a Ducati this season

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Marc Marquez has been borderline unstoppable at Ducati in 2025. But naturally, there will be some riders who think they could challenge him on equal machinery.

Marquez has a 68-point championship lead after 10 races, putting him on course to win the title rather easily. He’s won six Grands Prix and all but one Sprint race.

Critics would point out that he’s riding for a dominant manufacturer. Even taking Marquez’s eight podiums out of the equation, Ducati would have 15 more than anyone else (17).

But equally, Marquez is comfortably beating those who are in a position to challenge him. The relative parity between the GP24 and GP25 means that group features five other riders, including teammate Francesco Bagnaia and brother Alex.

Miguel Oliveira says Jorge Martin could challenge Marc Marquez on a Ducati

Speaking on the Moto IT YouTube channel, Pramac rider Miguel Oliveira said Marquez is in an ‘ideal’ situation right now. He isn’t coming under ‘any real pressure’, with Bagnaia falling short of expectations.

Oliveira thinks the outlook would be ‘different’, though, if Jorge Martin had stayed. Martin had the option to remain a Ducati satellite rider but left for Aprilia after Marquez beat him to the factory seat.

Ironically, Oliveira was one of the beneficiaries of that move as vacancies opened up at Pramac. Martin has only appeared in one race this year due to injury.

“Having your teammate beat you every weekend is definitely tough, isn’t it?” Oliveira said of Bagnaia. “You know you have the same means at your disposal. That’s always tough psychologically, even if I think Bagnaia is someone who stays very focused on himself.

“Marc is in an ideal situation, because the only one who puts pressure on him is his brother. Marc is doing very well now without any real pressure.

“Let’s say that, in my opinion, if there was Jorge Martin on the Ducati, things would be different. That’s the way I see it.”

Marc Marquez may soon push for a Francesco Bagnaia replacement at Ducati

Some believe that Martin is chasing money as he looks for a way out of his Aprilia contract. He wants to join a less competitive, but more prestigious, Honda outfit.

By contrast, Marquez sacrificed a huge pay cheque from Honda to enter the Ducati stable for 2024. The two riders have clearly taken different approaches.

Martin will expect Honda’s unparalleled resources to shine through in the long term. But he may be foregoing the chance to battle Marquez in 2026.

There’s a possibility that Marquez will push Ducati to sign his brother – currently his nearest challenger – for 2027, rather than renew Bagnaia. He already persuaded Honda to take a chance on Alex in 2020.