Marco Bezzecchi
Marc Marquez won his first MotoGP title since 2019 during his first season as a Ducati rider, and five key moments from the start to the end defined his 2025 championship.
The 32-year-old moved to Borgo Panigale at the start of this term to replace Enea Bastianini in the works Ducati team next to Francesco Bagnaia. Marquez joined from their satellite team Gresini, having seen off Jorge Martin for a factory seat after seven races on a Desmosedici.
Marquez would have retired after his only year with Gresini in 2024 if his move to get on the Ducati GP23 did not yield results. In the end, the Cervera native’s gamble to leave Honda led him to join Ducati and returned him to the very top of MotoGP since his dominant 2019 title.
Honda and Marquez were a match made in heaven, with six titles in seven years from 2013-19. Marquez’s 2019 title was also one of the most dominant campaigns that a rider has ever produced, with 12 Grand Prix wins and 18 podiums (all either wins or P2) from the 19 races.
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Yet Marquez’s career-threatening injury in the 2020 season-opening Spanish Grand Prix and Honda’s inability to maintain their status put an end to his dominance. It took until 2025 for Marquez to rediscover his dominance, as he won the title for Ducati with five rounds spare.
From the 18 rounds he entered out of a potential 22 in the 2025 MotoGP season, Marquez took 11 Grand Prix wins, 15 podiums and 14 Sprint wins. Marquez won the 2025 title at the Japanese GP, before he then suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in the Indonesian GP.
Multiple key moments defined Marquez’s title-winning 2025 MotoGP season, as he matched rival Valentino Rossi as a seven-time premier class champion. So, with that in mind, MotoGP News takes a look at the five key moments that defined Marquez’s first title as a Ducati rider.
Ducati’s last-minute decision to use an upgraded GP24 engine with their GP25 bike
One moment that proved to be defining for Marquez in his title-winning 2025 campaign with Ducati occurred right at the very start of the term. The Bologna Bullets finished pre-season testing unsure about which engine they would use and, ultimately, modified their GP24 unit.
Ducati discarded the GP25 engine they used for pre-season testing as, while it had a higher top speed, its engine braking was a step backwards from the GP24. But the GP25 unit was not discarded completely, as Ducati modified elements before homologating their design.
The Bologna Bullets’ decision to run a modified GP25 engine rather than reverting to a GP24 proved to be game-changing for all of the wrong reasons for Bagnaia. He was never able to adapt to how the GP25 reacted under braking, while Marquez would ride around the issues.
Marc Marquez’s 2025 Spanish Grand Prix crash changed his mindset
Marquez started his time with Ducati as he meant to go on, as the Spaniard won three of the first seven Grands Prix and six Sprint Races. Another Grand Prix win also slipped through the cracks, as Bagnaia won the 2025 Americas GP after Marquez crashed in the lead at COTA.
But another crash proved to be more defining for Marquez’s 2025 title, having fallen while in a fight for the lead at Jerez in round five this April. Marquez crashed whilst P3 in the Spanish GP, before recovering to P12 to register his only finish outside of the podium places all term.
Marquez did not want to risk polesitter Fabio Quartararo of Yamaha or his Ducati teammate Bagnaia getting away in the early stages of the Spanish GP. So, he tried to push on in Turn 8, which is one of his strongest corners, but his aggression meant he then folded his front tyre.
Yet the crash had a silver lining, as Marquez realised that he needed to change his mindset after dropping points with an avoidable crash. Marquez admitted after the Spanish GP that he had “too much” confidence when he crashed on Lap 3/25 after winning the Jerez Sprint.
“Yesterday was a crash… it was one that I need to avoid,” Marquez said, via Crash. “I went in too fast, and I realised that I was too fast. But in terms of being a bit wide, I tried to keep the line because on those left corners, I feel super good.
“It was the first crash of the season in a left corner. So, I believed in myself and I said, ‘OK, I will stay [on the racing line]’. But it was not possible, but too much confidence. I need to be more careful in the future.”
Marc Marquez won the 2025 Italian Grand Prix for his first Mugello victory since 2014
Marquez established that he was going to win the 2025 MotoGP riders’ title, regardless of what his rivals managed, from round eight at Aragon when he did the double for the third time out of an eventual 10. But round nine at Mugello proved to be vastly more defining.
Aragon saw Marquez claim his first wins on a Ducati after joining Gresini in 2024, as he also did the double. But his double delight at Mugello in 2025 was more defining than his latest Aragon double, as Marquez won the Italian Grand Prix for the first time since 2014 in 2025.
Mugello has historically been one of Marquez’s less successful venues, yet he was in a class of one amid the Tuscan hills in 2025. After a brief battle with Bagnaia and Alex Marquez on his GP24 at Gresini, Marquez ran away to win the Italian GP once he took the lead on L9/23.
Another breakthrough result also followed at the TT Circuit Assen in round 10, as Marquez won the 2025 Dutch Grand Prix for his first victory in the Netherlands since 2018. He even did the double after giving Alex Marquez and Marco Bezzecchi zero chances at an overtake.
Marc Marquez won the 2025 MotoGP riders’ title with five rounds to spare in Japan
Marquez achieving seven-straight doubles from round eight to 14 ultimately meant the title was always bound to be his. The Cervera native eventually secured the championship at the Japanese GP in round 17, having wasted his first shot at the crown in round 16 at Misano.
READ MORE: Marc Marquez is the oldest MotoGP champion but not in premier class history
It was possible for Marquez to win the 2025 MotoGP title on Rossi’s home turf in September at the San Marino Grand Prix. But Marquez crashed soon after taking the lead of the Misano Sprint, but he only had to wait until the Japanese GP to match Rossi with seven titles to date.
Marquez also beat Rossi’s record as the oldest rider to win the title in the MotoGP era at 32 years old. He even set a new record for winning the title with the most rounds remaining at five, but Rossi’s 2002 title remains the record by per cent of a season (75% over 77.2%).
Marc Marquez suffered a season-ending injury in the 2025 Indonesian Grand Prix
But straight after one defining moment in Marquez’s 2025 MotoGP title came another, as the Ducati rider sustained a season-ending shoulder injury on the first lap of the Indonesian GP in round 18. Aprilia rider Marco Bezzecchi took Marquez out after he misjudged their speed.
Bezzecchi had far more speed than any other rider around Mandalika’s sweeping bends, yet a poor start from pole position dropped him behind Marquez. He was not trying to get past Marquez at Turn 7, but Bezzecchi’s superior speed ensured he rear-ended the Ducati rider.
The collision sent them both through Mandalika’s controversial gravel trap. Marquez would require surgery to address the coracoid fracture and ligament damage in his right shoulder blade, which ensured the 2025 champion had to sit out the final four rounds of the season.
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