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8/22 Grands Prix, 72 points split the reigning World Champion up to Championship leader Marco Bezzecchi - the numbers, stats, rivals and Ducati management say it’s all to play for
There was never going to be any doubt that Ducati Lenovo Team’s Marc Marquez would ever lose his spark in his latest injury set back and in just his second round back, he’s reminded everyone who is the reigning World Champion – as if they needed reminding anyway. A first Grand Prix win since Misano last season, the #93’s quest for title #8 in MotoGP is back on track and the number of points he has to overcome, whilst being big, is not impossible.
He arrived into the Hungarian GP weekend at Balaton Park 102 points behind Championship leader Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing). Bez’s P3 on Saturday and DNF on Sunday coinciding with Marquez’s double mean 30 points were immediately slashed out of the Italian’s advantage over the #93. 72 points is still a huge task but don’t forget, Marquez clinched the title in 2025 with five rounds to go, didn’t score in the final five Grands Prix of the season and still held a 78-point gap over brother Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP). For refence, the title-winning margin after the Japanese Grand Prix was 201. It’s very much game on.
"Championship is super long but we are not in the moment, we are not in that shape... I don't feel that I'm ready to fight, honestly speaking,” began Marquez about whether or not he is a contender. “This weekend yes but in Mugello we were 10 seconds behind the leader, so let's see.
“It depends a lot about Brno and Assen and then on the summer break. I still need to reach my new 100%. I will not say my 100% but I need to reach my new 100% and from that point I'll understand. But of course, you know me: if I'm here, it’s to fight: every race, every practice and just... I would like to enjoy.”
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Marquez in title contention seems a given if you ask his rivals: Bezzecchi and teammate Jorge Martin both said on his comeback in Italy that if he’s here, it’s to win, as did teammate Francesco Bagnaia, who knows his tenacity all too well. Marquez himself will be acutely aware of Bagnaia’s own comeback and achievement too, taking the 2022 title after being as far back as 91 points to Fabio Quartararo. And then there’s other remarkable comebacks too: the final Grand Prix shootout of 2006 which welcomed Nicky Hayden as Champion.
Davide Tardozzi, Ducati Lenovo Team manager, shared his thoughts on Marquez’s first win in 9 months and what it can mean going forward: “It feels very good; we were looking forward to this day since the beginning of the season. We’re happy to have it now, when Marc is growing to get back to 100% of his body health.”
When asked about the atmosphere in the box, one word summed it up: “Perfect! Three podiums in a row for Pecco and back to winning for Marc. He did everything here: pole position and lap record on Saturday, lap record and win on Sunday. For Marc, it’s a dream because we perfectly know and he knows that he is not 100% but, in the end, he’s the Champion that we know and sometimes, he likes to surprise us.
“The main thing is to take each race from one to the other and be sure that Marc will be back 100% on the body side, as this is the main issue for us. Obviously, we know that when he’s perfect, he’s one of the top guys. We have a lot of respect to the opponents that are leading the Championship and that they were unlucky this weekend. To recover 30 points like we did here at Balaton Park is not normal and we perfectly know that from the next race, they’ll be tough to beat.”
Looking at the bigger picture and the injury-hit few months he’s endured – beginning just a week after one of sport’s greatest comebacks – Marc rounded off by saying: “I've put a lot of pressure in myself during all my career and now I realise that after all what happened, I need to enjoy and let's be a bit easier to myself. I want to be more relaxed with same intensity but try to enjoy."
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