Marco Bezzecchi
Jorge Martin has seldom fought Marc Marquez at his best since he joined the MotoGP grid in 2021 given the Spaniards’ respective injury problems across the last five years.
Martin registered his MotoGP debut with Pramac in 2021, as Marquez was making his initial return from the career-threatening arm injury he suffered at Jerez in 2020. Marquez sat out essentially the entire 2020 campaign, and he even faced a further five layoffs through 2023.
Honda’s difficulties developing their bike without Marquez ensured the Japanese squad lost their way and he struggled to compete at the front of the grid regularly. Marquez won three Grands Prix in 2021, but he would not earn another win until he later joined Gresini in 2024.
The second half of the 2024 season also still remains the only time that Martin and Marquez have truly fought regularly for the big prizes to date. Marquez scored three wins through the final nine rounds and beat Martin to win in Aragon and Australia, as the latter lifted the title.
Name one rider you believe deserved more success during their MotoGP career?
Jorge Martin names Francesco Bagnaia as the toughest MotoGP rider he has raced against
But while Marquez won the 2025 MotoGP title with five rounds to spare in a truly dominant campaign after joining Ducati, Martin could not fight to retain his crown after joining Aprilia. The 27-year-old only started seven of the eight Grands Prix he entered in 2025 due to injury.
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So, when it comes to naming the toughest rider he has ever fought in MotoGP, Martin views Francesco Bagnaia as his biggest rival. Bagnaia beat Martin to lift the 2023 title by 39 points, before the latter took revenge in 2024 to get the title by 10 points in his final act for Pramac.
Martin told Aprilia in a post shared on Facebook: “Very difficult. If I have to name just one… Pecco Bagnaia.”
Jorge Martin is yet to fight Marc Marquez at his best, but he has beaten Pecco Bagnaia
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Martin only occasionally shared a track with Marquez through his first few years in MotoGP, and most of their battles came during 2024 when the former had a factory Ducati GP24 and the latter raced a year-old GP23. Martin’s injury woes in 2025 prevented any further battles.
Bagnaia, on the other hand, has been a regular thorn in Martin’s side in recent years. Their maiden battle for top honours saw Bagnaia win the 2021 Valencia Grand Prix by only 0.489 seconds to Martin. Bagnaia won his first MotoGP title in 2022, but Martin largely struggled.
The 2023 season was the real start of Martin and Bagnaia’s rivalry, which reached its highest point in 2024. Martin and Bagnaia both finished in the top two during six of the 20 Grands Prix and both finished on the podium in 13 races, as their title fight went down to the wire.
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