Marco Bezzecchi
Marc Marquez’s very first boss in Grand Prix motorcycle racing, Francesco Guidotti, has revealed the extent of the Spaniard’s winning mentality by sharing a story about his first pole position in the 125cc category.
The nine-time Grand Prix world champion has always been an extraordinary talent on two wheels, but the one thing that sets him apart from the rest of his rivals has always been the amount of hard work that he puts in behind the scenes.
His attention to detail is second-to-none on the MotoGP grid. During his one-season stint at Gresini Racing in 2024, Marquez blew engineers away after he accurately predicted a throttle trace from his own data.
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Marquez’s work ethic seemingly stems from his days in the junior categories, in which he was clearly lacking physical aptitude compared to his taller and stronger rivals.
Pundit Neil Hodgson previously revealed that he didn’t ‘rate’ Marquez as a youngster, due to the fact that he was so small. Of course, seven MotoGP titles later, the British former rider couldn’t have been more wrong.
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Francesco Guidotti shares how Marc Marquez stunned KTM with his reaction to first-ever pole
During a recent interview with Motosprint, Marquez’s former boss at the Red Bull KTM 125cc outfit, Francesco Guidotti, was asked to share his earliest memory of working with the Spaniard.
“Well, he was already a KTM 125 factory rider in the Spanish championship, so I met him when he was competing in the Spanish championship, right here in Barcelona, for the first time,” the Italian began.
“My first memory was when he took pole position at Donington, in his first year in the world championship in 2008. He came back into the pits, and we were all delighted, surprised and happy – we had a bit of a celebration.”
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Marquez would eventually finish the race on the podium, but had a lot of feedback to give his engineers regarding the performance of his 125cc KTM bike.
“When he took off his helmet, he was quite calm, and he immediately pointed out that there was a lack of acceleration… That was it,” Guidotti continued. “That was the crux of the matter: a lack of acceleration. We were here celebrating, and he was full of determination.
“He was very young, but when you spoke to him in the pits, it was like talking to a 30-year-old; outside the pits, he was a 14- or 15-year-old lad, like everyone else.
” Always very cheerful, and always looking on the bright side. He left the negative to one side, trying to draw strength and energy from the fact that he’d always been a man. A bit of a robot, really.”
Francesco Guidotti has also seen Jorge Martin showcase the same trait in MotoGP
After identifying that Marquez’s robot-like demeanour in the pit box has stayed with him throughout the entirety of his Grand Prix motorcycle racing career, Guidotti also noted how Jorge Martin is another rider who carries himself in the same way.
“Jorge takes a very similar approach to this as well, to the issues at hand,” he said. “Problems need to be solved, but he draws his strength. In any case, he doesn’t let himself get down from the positive aspects of the situation.”
Despite Marquez being sidelined since his brutal crash at Le Mans over a fortnight ago, Martin still sees the reigning world champion as his main title rival for the 2026 campaign.
Marco Bezzecchi currently leads the standings, with Martin in second place and 15 points behind. Marquez currently sits in ninth, nearly 100 points below Bezzecchi’s benchmark of 142 points.
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