It’s the 6th of October 2019. Marc Marquez crosses the line ahead of Fabio Quartararo to win the Thai Grand Prix and his 8th world title.
Now, we jump forward to the opening race of 2025. Marc Marquez crosses the line to win the opening GP of the season in Thailand. It’s a statement win. “He was playing with us”, said Pecco Bagnaia, with a slightly worried look on his face, and frankly, he should be worried. The whole grid should be.
Marc said that in the early phase of the race, when he was streaking away from the field, he was riding within his comfort zone, while other riders, like his brother Alex, were on the edge and had nothing for him.
This new, and very red, version of Marc Marquez is ominously similar to the Marc that fans became so accustomed to seeing on the top step of the podium between 2013 and 2019. He is very happy, very relaxed and very, very fast.
This then brings us to the inevitable question. Is this the beginning of Marc’s 9th world title?
Let’s look at the facts. Marc is on the best bike in the paddock. He’s physically fit and arguably the most mentally strong he has ever been. He has also realised that maybe there’s more to life than racing motorcycles.
It’s this last point that I think gives Marc the edge. The fact that he’s seemingly okay with not always being the fastest takes the pressure off. It lets him do his thing and enjoy racing motorcycles again, something he hasn’t been able to do for a while now.
So, to answer my own question, I think there is a very good chance that the domination we saw in the pre-season test and the opening round of the season is a sign of things to come. There are, however, other factors to take into account.
Firstly, Pecco isn’t going to take this lying down. You can be damn sure that he is going to do everything in his power to catch up to the fast starting Marc Marquez and I genuinely believe he has the tools and the know-how to do it.
Secondly, there is Jorge Martin. Despite his rough start to the season, a lack of testing and the fact that he’s not on the best bike, he is still the reigning world champion, and that is something we shouldn’t forget. We know the Aprilia is capable; just look at what Ai Ogura did! If Martin can adjust to the Aprilia, he will be up there challenging for podiums and the odd win, no doubt.
I hope that I’m right, because while watching Marc do his thing and dominate now and then is a spectacle in itself, it will get boring if it happens at every race.
I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what happens, but either way, we’re in store for a great 2025 season!
