How Marc Marquez responded after Dorna stopped calling him an eight-time world champion

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Marc Marquez has the first chance to secure a seventh MotoGP title at the Japanese Grand Prix in Motegi.

The Spaniard has been in scintillating form throughout 2025, and needs to outscore his brother Alex by three points to claim a seventh premier class crown before the end of September. When Ducati signed him, this was the situation they dreamed of.

Realistically, there’s a chance that Marquez can afford to finish off the podium and still achieve his title this weekend, but his aim is to keep his mindset the same. His current approach has served him well throughout the MotoGP season, and there’s no reason to change that now.

Marquez’s career could have ended at Gresini last year, but he managed to find a way to show everyone that he still had the pace to compete. Even more worrying, MotoGP fans are saying the same thing about Ducati’s 2027 bike, and it could see their massive advantage return.

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Marc Marquez says no longer being an eight-time champion ‘doesn’t’ bother him

Marquez says winning the title in Japan shouldn’t be taken ‘for granted’, and it’s a place that is special to him, given that he has claimed a triumph there on three previous occasions.

Some fans have been outraged by a recent Dorna directive to ignore Moto2 and Moto3 championship titles, meaning that Marc is now considered a six-time champion, rather than an eight.

It means that he’ll potentially be celebrating a seventh title for a second time in Motegi, and fans have said the same thing about Marquez’s titles. They believe he should be about to win his ninth, but speaking at the Japanese Grand Prix press conference, the 32-year-old seemed unfazed by the change.

“It’s not in my hands,” he said. “I mean, of course, for me, the most important, I always say, when I will retire someday, doesn’t matter. I mean of course, [it] matters the numbers. But, the most important [is] that the people remember me as I give everything on track.

“The value of this championship inside of me is more than another one. In the end, the numbers is the same one. The career of a rider is different, in the end, numbers are numbers, [they] are not in my hands, but the most important [thing] is [to] increase that numbers. It doesn’t matter how.”

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What Marc Marquez’s main ‘goal’ is at the Japanese Grand Prix

Even though Marquez is about to win Ducati the title in his first season with them, which will spark significant celebrations, he isn’t losing focus yet.

In the press conference, he went on to address his aims across the weekend, making his approach very clear. He does not want to make any changes compared to the rest of the season.

“Of course, I’d like to fight for the win, because that means I’d have a chance to close the championship,” he said. “I expect that Alex will be fast all weekend, as always, but our target is to keep the same mentality and try to close the championship here.

“Let’s see, because the [race] looks easy, but it’s not that easy to score three more points all weekend than Alex, because as he showed, he’s riding in a very good way,” Marquez continued.

“We’ll try to do our best and let’s see if we can celebrate something big on Sunday. If not, we will wait, don’t worry, I can wait. The most important is achieving it sooner or later.”