“Impossible” to repeat dominant Honda years on factory Ducati

Marc Marquez believes it would be impossible for him to replicate the success he enjoyed during his peak years at Honda when he joins the factory Ducati team in MotoGP next season.

For the first time since 2019, Marquez will be racing what is expected to be the best bike on the MotoGP grid, as he teams up with two-time champion Francesco Bagnaia at Ducati in 2025.

The Desmosedici has been in a class of its own this year, winning 18 of the 19 grands prix held so far. Only Maverick Vinales’ triumph on an Aprilia in the Americas GP prevented Ducati from completing a clean sweep.

Marquez has adapted well to the Ducati after spending 11 years on the Honda RC213V, winning three grands prix on last year’s GP23 bike and taking the fight to the latest spec bikes of Bagnaia, Enea Bastianini and Pramac’s Jorge Martin.

The Spaniard’s results are particularly impressive considering the other three riders racing the GP23 scored just two podiums between them, with VR46’s Fabio di Giannantonio the highest-placed rider among the trio in eighth, five spots behind Marquez.

While he will finally get parity of equipment with Bagnaia next year, Marquez doesn’t think it would mean he will be able to enjoy the same success as he did in 2019, when he won 12 races en route to his sixth premier class title.

“Well, it was a year that I had not found myself in my sporting career and I hope not to find myself again, but it may happen, because it may happen. A year of looking for answers,” he said of 2024.

“I had a lot of questions in my head and it was a year of looking for answers. I have been finding them in a positive way because the main question was, am I still competitive enough to be in MotoGP? So that was yes, I’m still competitive.

“Logically it will be impossible to be the dominator like in 2019. Why? Because life happens for all of us who are here, the ones who are coming but we will try to keep that line as flat as possible to keep a high level in MotoGP and to stay competitive.”

Marquez’s impending move to Ducati has raised expectations from him, given how his success in the mid-to-late 2010s put him among the list of all-time greats in motorcycle racing.

But the current Gresini rider isn’t concerned by the weight of expectations on his shoulders, pointing out how fans assumed he will be a genuine title contender in 2024.

“Yes, there were also people who, when…