Marco Bezzecchi
Jorge Martin has revealed that fighting Marc Marquez for the MotoGP title gives him something different compared to his battles with Francesco Bagnaia.
Martin, 28, currently races for Aprilia, having won the 2024 MotoGP world championship title when riding for Ducati satellite team Prima Pramac Racing.
That year, the Spaniard beat Bagnaia by just 10 points, ending the Italian’s dream of winning a hat-trick of world titles, having won in 2022 and 2023.
In 2026, Martin currently leads the world championship standings by seven points, with his Aprilia teammate Marco Bezzecchi in second place.
Meanwhile, seven-time MotoGP world champion Marquez is edging closer towards the top as he currently trails Martin by 40 points.
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Jorge Martin says potential MotoGP title fight with Marc Marquez is ‘incredible’
Looking ahead, it is expected that Marquez would be right in the middle of the title fight with the two Aprilia riders.
Speaking recently to Spanish news outlet AS, Martin was asked about whether fighting with Marquez instead of Bagnaia changes anything.
In response, Martin alluded to the fact that he and Bagnaia had been riding against each other since they were young; therefore, they know each other inside out.
However, going up against Marquez, whom Martin labels as one of the greats, will give him something that he can take with him for the rest of his life.
Martin stated that a title fight with Marquez would be ‘incredible’ and he claimed that the 33-year-old ‘surprises’ him a lot.
Martin said: “Well, ultimately, it’s clear that Marc is—if not the best, then alongside Valentino (Rossi) one of the greatest riders in history—and the challenge of winning, or having the chance to beat one of the all-time greats, is massive.
“That wasn’t the case with Pecco. I certainly went through a lot with Pecco; we’ve been rivals since we were very young, so we already knew each other well.
“With Marc—even though I’ve been in MotoGP for six years now—I didn’t race against him growing up, so he always surprises you in some way. I think his talent is on another level, but just being able to battle someone like him is incredible.
“And that’s what I’ll take with me when I retire: being able to say I fought for a world championship against one of the greatest in history.”
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Martin was then asked whether a title fight against Marquez would ‘fire him up’ even more than usual.
In response, the 28-year-old stated that he is always fired up whenever there is an opportunity to win.
However, he went on to admit that he is nursing back issues and other lingering problems, saying that Marquez is in a ‘similar boat’.
He added: “Battling anyone gets me fired up, but doing it with Marc is definitely special. Let’s see if we can both get to 100%—I’m dealing with back issues and some other lingering problem I can’t quite shake, and he’s in a similar boat.
“So, I’m looking forward to it; let’s see if we end up going head-to-head in the final laps one day.”
Looking ahead to 2027, Martin will be leaving Aprilia, having signed with Japanese manufacturer Yamaha, where he will race alongside Ai Ogura.
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