Marco Bezzecchi
Marc Marquez’s move from Honda machinery to Ducati looks as inspired as ever following his sixth consecutive MotoGP victory at the Austrian Grand Prix.
The Spaniard has been unstoppable in race trim over the last six rounds of the season and now leads the MotoGP standings by 142 points.
It has been a dream scenario for Ducati, who have inherited one of the greatest riders of all time at the top of his game.
Marquez will achieve a dream seventh title and become the oldest champion in the sport’s history while doing so. His rivals will fear what he’s capable of doing in 2026.
15 races into the season, Marquez has done something Casey Stoner didn’t foresee by dominating to such an extent.
Francesco Bagnaia made a defeatist Marquez comment and showed how far his confidence has plummeted at the Austrian Grand Prix. The two-time champion is performing far from his teammate’s level in 2025.
Marc Marquez reveals Gresini ‘weren’t paying him’ a MotoGP wage after leaving Honda
Marquez forced Fermin Aldeguer into a ‘very difficult’ situation in Spielberg, after showing some rapid pace towards the end of the race. He made him take some risks to catch him.
As the championship goes on, it’s expected that the 32-year-old will begin to ease up and avoid taking risks that could put him in harm’s way.
The allure of beating some records may be too strong for him to resist. He’s now just four wins from matching his incredible consecutive victories streak from 2014 (10).
According to Neil Morrison of the Paddock Pass Podcast, Marquez revealed he took a 100% pay cut to leave Honda and join Gresini in 2024. He wanted to ride a Ducati bike so badly that he was willing to do so for free.
It’s especially rare for a sportsperson near the top of their game to compete for free, but it shows just how badly Marquez wanted to prove a point. A point that he could still win.
“He [Mat Oxley] asked what percentage of pay cut did you take to go from Repsol Honda to Gresini in 2024 and he said 100%, in that Gresini weren’t paying him anything last year,” he said.
“He was asked ‘bonuses for wins or podiums?’, [he responded] ‘Yes, but for my personal sponsors, not from Gresini.’ We’re probably correct in thinking that he was on at least €20 million a year.”
How did Marc Marquez perform during the 2024 MotoGP season?
Marquez knows it’s ‘career over’ if he injures one muscle in a crash. His 2020 accident had many side effects that will plague him for years to come.
But last season was the confirmation that he needed that he could still perform at the highest level if he had the right bike.
He claimed his first win in three years at Aragon and won twice more before the end of the campaign. His move to the factory Ducati outfit had already been sealed by then.
After the 2025 Austrian Grand Prix, he has already achieved more points than he did in 2024, and there are still nine rounds to go.
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