Target Achieved, Marquez Sees 2025 MotoGP Title as a Bonus

Marc Marquez

After being promoted to Ducati's factory team, many have labeled Marc Marquez as the favorite to claim the 2025 MotoGP title. However, the Spanish rider is not embracing that added pressure—at least for now.

Marquez’s goal when he made the difficult decision to leave Honda and his technical team in 2023 was to join Ducati’s factory team as soon as possible. Ducati, currently dominating the championship, was the opportunity he sought. It took just a few months for the eight-time world champion to convince the Italian brand’s management, who had to make extreme moves to accommodate him—such as parting ways with Enea Bastianini and Jorge Martin, the latter of whom eventually became the 2024 MotoGP World Champion.

Ducati’s deep commitment to Marquez has been seen by many as entirely justified. However, not everyone has fully understood the shift in philosophy for the Italian manufacturer, which had secured the last three World Championships—two with Francesco Bagnaia and one with Martin—after years of struggle since their 2007 title with Casey Stoner.

This shift could be overshadowed entirely if Marquez were to win the title in his first year as a factory rider for Borgo Panigale. Yet, Marquez is quick to distance himself from such expectations.

“I’ve already achieved what I set out to do: to extend my career and become competitive again. If I win another title, that would just be a bonus. But my main goal has already been accomplished,” the rider explained in an interview with MotoGP.com.

Marquez will join Ducati’s factory garage at the age of 32 (he turns 32 on February 17, 2025) and with 17 seasons in the World Championship under his belt—12 of which were in the premier class, where he won six titles between 2013 and 2019. Following his arm injury in 2020, Marquez underwent a long recovery process and four surgeries before he could regain his former form. Unfortunately, during that time, he lacked a competitive bike.

“With Honda, we achieved so much, and I felt like I was part of Honda. But now, in 2024, I’m riding a Ducati, and in 2025, I’ll be an official Ducati rider. Of course, I will try to represent this brand with pride.

"However, Honda has been and will always be a significant part of my career, perhaps even the most important part. You never know,” said the Spanish rider, who has admitted on several occasions that if the opportunity to join Gresini had not come up, “I would have retired.”

“When I was at Honda, people often said, ‘Honda is Honda, and he’s winning because of Honda.’ But there’s more to Honda than that. If you’re a good rider and you go to Honda saying, ‘I don’t care about money, I just want the best bike,’ they will give you the best bike if you’re truly good.

"In my case, I did the opposite. I went to Ducati and said, ‘I don’t care about anything else; I just want to ride the best bike.’ Now, when I retire, I’ll feel at peace with myself because I know I’ve tried everything,” added the rider, who gave up several major sponsors to join Ducati.

“Of course, when you make a move like this, you put a lot of pressure on yourself, and there will be plenty of criticism if you don’t achieve what you set out to do. But I’ve already reached my goal: to extend my career and return to being competitive,” Marquez stated.

As of now, the Catalan rider is not willing to shoulder the burden of being the favorite for the 2025 title. “If I win the championship again, it will be a bonus. But my main goal has already been achieved,” he reiterated.

Ducati’s factory team is set to unveil its 2025 livery and rider lineup, featuring Bagnaia and Marquez, on Monday, January 20, 2025, at Madonna di Campiglio.

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