Marco Bezzecchi
Marc Marquez joined the elite of MotoGP over the weekend as he claimed his seventh MotoGP title. Fittingly, he achieved it at the home of his former team Honda.
The Japanese Grand Prix presented Marquez with his first ‘match point’ of the 2025 season. He could have won the title at Misano, but his crash in the Sprint meant he had to wait until Motegi to wrap it up.
Marquez’s assistant would rather not have won at Motegi, given the Spaniard’s close relationship with Honda, while Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali saw it as a clear statement to win on their rival’s home turf.
Sure enough, P2 in the Sprint and main race did the job as the 32-year-old won his seventh MotoGP title and ninth Grand Prix championship. Marquez says it is an ‘honour’ to equal Valentino Rossi – he now has the same record as his nemesis.
It was an incredibly emotional occasion for the Spaniard, as his 2025 title marks a sensational comeback to the top of MotoGP. He suffered years of pain with injury setbacks at Honda after his crash at Jerez in 2020.
Honda staff were left ‘really emotional’ as they watched Marc Marquez win his seventh MotoGP title
Marquez wrote history with Honda in the 2010s as they won six titles together between 2013 and 2019. He got the opportunity to share his seventh title celebrations with the team, as Joan Mir finished third behind him and race winner Francesco Bagnaia.
He shared a great moment with his former Honda physio Carlos Garcia on the pit wall; he had helped him during his recovery from his broken right arm in 2020. Journalist Neil Morrison says Honda staff were ’emotional’ as they reacted to his triumph.
He said via the Paddock Pass Podcast: “The most impactful moment of it was when he grabbed his physio, longtime physio Carlos Garcia, who works now for the Kheiron health clinic, which follows MotoGP around.
“He was leaning over the pit wall and they had a really emotional embrace. Carlos was there, I think, through a lot of 2020, 2021, helping him with physio pretty much every day, two or three hours of physio per day.
“And just seeing those kind of people that have been so close to Marc in those dark moments, the emotion that they felt.
“Here we heard from a couple of people within the Honda camp and saying how emotional it was for them as well, because they had been with Marc through part of that journey too.
“I thought it was quite fitting actually. Mir was on the podium and therefore the majority of his old crew were all down there in parc ferme. Seeing that I thought was really nice.”
READ MORE: Everything to know about Marc Marquez from net worth to girlfriend
Honda’s message to Marc Marquez on social media after clinching his ninth world championship
Honda publicly shared their congratulations to their former star as they posted a picture on Instagram of Marquez after he won his eighth Grand Prix title in 2019. His 2025 triumph marks the longest period for a rider between their last and latest championships.
Honda’s post reiterated the strong bond between the two parties as their caption read: “Sometimes the #8Ball isn’t the end of the game.
“Congratulations from everyone at Honda HRC to @marcmarquez93 and his team. It has been a journey of a thousand miles and we are delighted to see you back on top of the world with a ninth World Championship.”
With his 2025 title, Marquez has kept his promise to Honda that he made in 2022. He had said that he would ‘find his way’ back to the top of MotoGP, and he has done so emphatically with Ducati.
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