Marco Bezzecchi
Pedro Acosta offered a glowing assessment of Marc Marquez’s 2025 season in the press conference ahead of the Catalan Grand Prix. Marquez was so touched that he immediately shook Acosta’s hand.
Acosta said the Ducati rider, who leads the world championship by 175 points with eight races remaining, is about to complete arguably the greatest sporting comeback of all time. Marquez has undergone four arm surgeries since he last won the title in 2019.
According to Acosta, his seventh title will place him in the pantheon of Spanish sporting greats like tennis player Rafael Nadal, Formula 1 driver Fernando Alonso and basketball star Pau Gasol. He also compared him to six-time NBA champion Michael Jordan.
“In the case that he wins, it will be the biggest comeback of our sport – maybe the history of sports, let’s say,” Acosta said. “We can compare this with Michael Jordan, when he went to play baseball and then came back to basketball.
“He will be the first MotoGP rider to be able to sit on this table of Nadal, Alonso and Gasol. I think it will be one of the greatest comebacks of the sport.”
Dani Pedrosa hails the ‘maturity’ of Pedro Acosta after Marc Marquez handshake
Dani Pedrosa reacted to Acosta’s comments in an interview with AS at the Catalan Grand Prix. Pedrosa was Marquez’s teammate at Honda between 2013 and 2018.
As a test rider for KTM, the 31-time MotoGP winner is now mentoring Acosta. He feels that the youngster demonstrated his ‘maturity’ in the press conference.
Acosta has previously been called the next Marquez, a moniker that he hates. He feels that a comparison to his fellow Spaniard creates too much pressure.
Pedrosa said: “It’s very important, especially for a rider like Pedro, who is so young and so competitive, that he already has that level of maturity, but of course, Marc is winning a lot of races and it’s impossible to deny what Marc is doing.”
A report earlier this year suggested that Valentino Rossi sees Acosta as the ‘anti-Marquez’. But it’s obvious how much respect the 21-year-old has for the Ant of Cervera.
Dani Pedrosa explains why Marc Marquez is now at his ‘best’ in MotoGP
In the same interview, Pedrosa was asked how many titles Marquez can win. He’ll be the strong favourite for 2026 too, even if Ducati’s advantage over the field appears to be reducing.
Pedrosa believes MotoGP is now seeing the ‘best’ version of Marquez. He’s now keenly aware of the ‘consequences’ of taking too many risks.
Marquez says he’s lost some ‘explosiveness’ since his best days at Honda. But Pedrosa, who’s raced alongside him more than any other rider, believes he’s more complete.
“I wouldn’t dare to talk about the future, but what do I know?” he said. “Right now, Marc is impressive. He’s at his best, even with what happened with his injury.
“I say that because, when you’re younger, you’re more driven and less concerned about the consequences. Now he has a precedent, and that doesn’t make him forget that things can happen, and yet everything is going perfectly for him.”
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