MotoGP star admits that he’s still not friends with Marc Marquez, ‘you have to respect everyone’

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Marc Marquez has lacked a true rival during the 2025 season. Indeed, his nearest challenger has been his brother Alex.

Marquez was thrilled to see Alex finish second, but it’s telling that the gap remains at 132 points despite the Ducati rider’s absence at the last two races. He’s been a level above the rest of the field this year.

The anticipated rivalry with Francesco Bagnaia hasn’t materialised, with the two-time MotoGP champion at a loss as to how to extract performance from the bike consistently. Marquez has even given Bagnaia advice on how to escape his crisis.

Giacomo Agostini says ‘everyone loves’ Marquez, who has completed one of sport’s great comebacks this year after four surgeries on his broken humerus.

Marco Bezzecchi admits it’d be ‘stupid’ to call Marc Marquez a friend

In an interview with GPOne, Aprilia rider Marco Bezzecchi was asked how much he’d ‘grown as a person’. They made reference to his improved relationship with Marquez.

Marquez and Bezzecchi were once enemies, but the Italian has acknowledged that some of his comments were a ‘mistake’. He once told the #93 that he should be ‘kicked out of the championship’.

Bezzecchi was completely apologetic after tangling with Marquez at the Indonesian GP last month, an incident that ended the world champion’s season and earned him a double long-lap penalty.

• READ MORE: ‘No-one’ on the MotoGP grid had a bigger ‘grudge’ against Marc Marquez than Marco Bezzecchi

Marquez told his fans to show respect to Bezzecchi afterwards. The VR46 academy graduate still wouldn’t call them friends, but the hostility has been removed.

“In life, as the years go by, you mature, you grow, and you realise that you may have made mistakes many times; it’s normal,” said Bezzecchi.

“It would be stupid if I said that Marc is my friend now, but I’ve become wiser and understand that you have to respect everyone.”

Marco Bezzecchi explains how his relationship with Francesco Bagnaia has changed

Bezzecchi is battling Bagnaia for third in the standings. He left VR46 at the end of last year to become a factory rider at Aprilia.

While they see less of one another at the race track, their relationship ‘at home’ is as strong as ever. Aprilia are aiming to dethrone Ducati in the teams’ championship next year, when they hope that 2024 world champion Jorge Martin will be fully fit.

“It’s a different time than in 2022 or 2023, but fortunately, we’ve managed to maintain the same relationship over time,” Bezzecchi said of Bagnaia.

“The only thing is that now, since I’m also in a factory team, and especially at races I see him less, also because we can’t spend time in each other’s hospitality area. But at home everything is the same as before.”

Honda’s Luca Marini – Rossi’s half brother – is also a VR46 product, along with Franco Morbidelli, who joined The Doctor’s team this year.