Valentino Rossi’s right-hand man has seen where Marc Marquez is ‘especially’ in a class of his own at Ducati

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Marc Marquez is counting down the days until his coronation as a seven-time MotoGP champion, with it now possible that the Ducati rider will win the 2025 title at Misano.

The 32-year-old has been in a league of his own during most of the 2025 MotoGP season, with his switch to the factory Ducati team dealing a punch to the gut for the rest of the field. Marquez leads his brother, Alex, by 175 points atop the riders’ standings after 14/22 rounds.

Now, should events work in the Spaniard’s favour during the Catalan Grand Prix weekend on September 5-7, the crown could follow at the San Marino Grand Prix on September 12-14. A 222-point lead after the Misano event would make it impossible for Alex to overthrow Marc.

While it might be possible for him to secure the championship at Misano, Marquez is aiming to win the 2025 title in Japan or Indonesia. The Cervera native would rather wait one or two more rounds to get his seventh crown if it means Alex is competitive again in the Catalan GP.

Uccio Salucci saw Marc Marquez use an ‘especially’ longer swingarm than any Ducati rider at Balaton Park

Marquez is on the verge of securing championship point for Ducati’s home race after sealing seven straight Sprint and Grand Prix wins at Aragon, Mugello, Assen, the Sachsenring, Brno, the Red Bull Ring and Balaton Park. He also did the double in Thailand, Argentina and Qatar.

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

But while Marquez dominated at the Hungarian Grand Prix last time out, VR46 chief Alessio ‘Uccio’ Salucci admits Ducati had to make last-minute changes to their bikes to combat the stability issues the Borgo Panigale brand suffered on MotoGP’s maiden visit to Balaton Park.

Salucci said, via TodoCircuito: “You might think that on a small track like this, stability would be sacrificed to make the bike more manoeuvrable. Normally, they would shorten the bike for that. But they did exactly the opposite.

“One of the problems they had, they had so much rear grip that the front wheel was putting too much pressure on entering the chicanes.”

So, Ducati decided to install a longer swingarm to improve the stability of their bikes around Balaton Park, which Salucci believes put VR46 “back in the race”. But no Ducati rider would favour a longer swingarm than Marquez, as the Spaniard sealed his seventh straight double.

“This puts VR46 back in the race,” Valentino Rossi’s right-hand man Salucci added. “And you can guess who has an especially long swingarm, Marc Marquez.”

Marc Marquez is the only rider able to consistently show the Ducati GP25’s potential

Marquez scored his eighth pole position of 2025 at Balaton Park, as the Ducati rider left the field in his wake with a 0.290-second gap over second-placed Aprilia rider Marco Bezzecchi. He also won the Sprint Race at Balaton Park by 2.095s over VR46 ace Fabio Di Giannantonio.

Di Giannantonio and factory Ducati racer Francesco Bagnaia, who finished the Balaton Park Sprint in P13 and 14.891s off the lead, are the only other riders using a Ducati GP25 in 2025 with Marc Marquez. Alex Marquez, Fermin Aldeguer and Franco Morbidelli are using GP24s.

But while Marquez utilised his especially long swingarm to win the Hungarian GP by 4.314s over KTM pilot Pedro Acosta, VR46’s Morbidelli was the second-best Ducati rider in P6 with a 12.608s deficit. Bagnaia finished the Hungarian GP in P9, and Di Giannantonio came P15.

Bagnaia and Di Giannantonio’s results also left them third and seventh in the standings, plus 227 and 301 points behind Marquez. While Marquez has even won 10 of the 14 Grands Prix and taken 12 podiums, Pecco boasts one win and 14 podiums, and Diggia has two rostrums.