Marc Marquez has now kept the promise he made to Honda boss in 2022 as he wins MotoGP title

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Marc Marquez is the 2025 MotoGP world champion. The Ducati rider sealed his seventh premier-class crown at Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix.

Marquez’s first six titles all came in Honda colours over a seven-season span between 2013 and 2019. After a six-year, injury-riddled wait, he’s back on top.

At the end of 2023, the Ant of Cervera took the most difficult decision of his career, leaving Honda before the end of his contract. He even sacrificed factory status as he joined Gresini.

That gamble has paid off spectacularly. In the eyes of Ducati engineers, Marquez outperformed Jorge Martin, last year’s champion, to earn a factory ride, paving the way for one of his most dominant seasons yet.

Marc Marquez told Honda he would ‘find his way’ back to the top

Mundo Deportivo have shared an anecdote from the 2022 season, Marquez’s penultimate campaign at Honda. He underwent his fourth and final arm surgery that year after dealing with career-threatening complications from his Spain 2020 crash.

Marquez only took part in 12 races, missing the remaining eight. He finished 13th in the championship, with no victories and just one podium finish.

It’s said that, in a meeting with the Honda boss, Marquez rolled up his sleeve to display his surgical scars.

• READ MORE: Dani Pedrosa shares whether he would have won a MotoGP title during Marc Marquez’s injury lay-off at Honda

“See this?” said the Spaniard. “This isn’t for pleasure. It’s to win. I want to get back to the top with you, but if it’s not with you, I’m going to find my way.”

Marquez ultimately decided that Honda couldn’t take him back to the top. He reached the point of no return at the 2023 German GP, where he withdrew from the race after crashing five times in one weekend.

The moment Marc Marquez will retire from MotoGP

Marquez promised that he would ‘find his way’ to win again, and he did so, albeit via a route few had expected. He’s already the overwhelming favourite to retain his title next year and surpass Valentino Rossi.

Francesco Bagnaia says Marquez has found an ‘unbeatable’ level in 2025, while Fabio Quartararo rated his season 10 out of 10. It’s difficult to see any rider reaching the benchmark he’s set this year, even if Ducati lose their advantage for good.

How much longer will he compete for? According to one of his former Honda colleagues, Marquez will only retire when someone surpasses him.

Rather than showing any signs of decline, he looks more complete than ever.