The Spaniard can win his tenth title, but doubts remain about his physical condition
We start again from Chang Circuit, in Thailand. The Moto GP World Championship starts from East Asia with all eyes on Marc Marquez. It’s a special year for the reigning world champion who can reach the tenth world total (now it’s at nine) e overcoming motorcycling phenomena such as Valentino Rossi, Mike Hailwood and Carlo Ubbiali. Angel Nieto at 13 and Giacomo Agostini at 15 are still far away but it should be remembered that in those years the riders raced in two categories (almost always 350 and 500 cc). Marquez won in 125 (with Derbi), in Moto2 (with Suter) and then in MotoGP six titles with Honda and one with Ducati. Yet the injury of 2020 and the growth of new talent combined with Honda’s crisis seemed to somehow put an end to Marquez’s career, who instead after two thousand days of ordeals returned to winning, demonstrating his strength.
Records and rivals
Marquez this year he could equal Agostini’s record with eight triumphs in the premier class. At 89 races won there is Valentino Rosso’s record, not so far after all given that the Spaniard has reached 73. The number one rival for the world title should be Bagnaia, but with a great advantage with the Spaniard who will also ride Ducati in the following seasons while the Italian will experience a separate season at home given that his contract expires at the end of 2026. Then there are Bezzecchi and Alex Marquez and the duel between the two Italian teams, Ducati and Aprilia, which could lead to new exciting pages being written. Meanwhile, Marquez’s debut, in Buriram, is on a circuit that has given him a lot of satisfaction. Marquez won in 2018 and 2019 with Honda and in the last edition with Ducati.
In difficulty
The first day of pre-season testing in Thailand saw Marc Marquez protagonist of a performance as brilliant as it was troubled. The Spanish rider, making his official debut on the Italian team’s new bike, faced a series of physical difficulties that could have compromised his performance. Behind the second overall time achieved by Marquez lie questions related to his physical condition and his future with the Ducatielements that will make the next few months decisive for the career of the Catalan champion. At the end of the day, Marc Marquez he did not hide the difficulties he encountered due to physical discomfort: “I woke up badly, weak and with diarrhea”, he said, highlighting how the virus limited his ability to push to the maximum. However, the real unknown remains his shoulder, still recovering from the injury that marked recent seasons. The rehabilitation process proceeds, but the pilot is aware that any decision on the contractual renewal with Ducati it will depend on the ability to sustain the physical loads required by MotoGP.
