Honda insider thinks Marc Marquez has proven what people ‘doubted’ when he joined Ducati were wrong

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Just 47 points now separate Ducati rider Marc Marquez from matching his arch-rival Valentino Rossi as a seven-time premier class champion in the 2025 MotoGP season.

It is only a matter of time before Marquez is crowned as this season’s champion, and he may even clinch the title at Misano later this month. The Ducati rider holds a 175-point lead over Alex Marquez atop the standings and will only have to leave Misano 222 clear of his brother.

There will still be 222 points on offer through the six rounds after the San Marino Grand Prix on September 12-14. But Alex needs to outscore Marc if he is to win his first MotoGP title as he would fall short in a tie. Marc has already won 10 Grands Prix and 13 Sprints this season.

No other rider has won multiple Grands Prix in the 2025 MotoGP season. Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia won in the USA, Gresini’s Alex Marquez won his first MotoGP race at Jerez, LCR star Johann Zarco won at Le Mans and Aprilia ace Marco Bezzecchi was victorious at Silverstone.

Marc Marquez has proven those who ‘doubted’ his ability to win on the best bike were wrong

Marc Marquez is aiming to win the 2025 title in Japan or Indonesia, more so than at Misano, as he would like to see Alex Marquez return to form on home soil at the Catalan Grand Prix. The Gresini pilot returning to form could delay Marc’s coronation past Ducati’s home circuit.

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

Alex can likely only delay the inevitable, though, as Marc has been in a class of his own since the 32-year-old joined the factory Ducati team this term. The Cervera native has even taken 10 Sprint and Grand Prix doubles, including winning both at each of the past seven rounds.

Yet a Honda insider believes there were some who “doubted” what Marquez could achieve once he got on the best bike by joining Ducati. They have since been proven very wrong, as Marquez closes in on adding to his six titles with Honda over 2013, ‘14, ‘16, ‘17, ‘18 and ‘19.

An ‘authoritative’ Honda team member has told Motorsport.com: “Those of us who worked with Marc and know him knew that, after the summer, he would be even more reliable than he had been in the first part of the season.

“He always tends to think he’s not as superior as he really is. Now, he’s convinced himself of this and calmed down. That makes him even more reliable.

“You see him race and you realise he has a big safety margin. Those who doubted whether he would win once he got on the best bike didn’t know what he was capable of. Now, they probably know.”

Marc Marquez has coupled having the best bike with the best mindset to dominate

Rival riders can rarely show Marquez a wheel in the latter stages of Grands Prix this year, as the Spaniard controls himself through the opening laps before taking control when he feels happy with everything. His approach also shows the Ducati rider has learned from his woes.

READ MORE: Everything to know about Ducati from the MotoGP team’s riders to hierarchy

Bagnaia got his sole win of the 2025 season so far when Marquez crashed in the lead of the Americas Grand Prix. Likewise, Alex Marquez won the Spanish Grand Prix after he saw Marc crash at Jerez. Zarco won the French Grand Prix after Marquez gambled on the wrong tyres.

Since those three races, only when Ducati were uncharacteristically out of contention for a win in 2025 at Silverstone has anyone beaten Marquez. Bezzecchi won the British GP after Yamaha ace Fabio Quartararo’s ride height device failed, and Alex Marquez won the Sprint.

As the old saying goes, the closest person to beating Marc Marquez is Marc himself. But he has coupled now having the best bike on the grid in the Ducati Desmosedici GP25 with the mindset to manage his races to win, often at a canter, in what is a truly dominant campaign.