How Marc Marquez finally laid the misery of Jerez 2020 to rest in Aragon “masterclass”

It’s 28 November 2023 at a cold and windy Ricardo Tormo Circuit pitlane. The throng of MotoGP media has firmly put the title battle decided just 48 hours prior to the back of its mind and is braving the elements to be positioned outside of the Gresini Racing garage.

Marc Marquez is awaiting his first laps on the Ducati MotoGP bike he will race in 2024 and the world is holding its breath: this is arguably one of the most significant moments in premier class history, certainly the biggest moment of Marquez’s career.

After the very first run on the bike, the smile returned. The woes of the 2023 season aboard a Honda that spent more time trying to break him quickly melted away. But, crucially, it was the moment that he knew he could be a winner again in MotoGP.

“In the Valencia test, I realised it will arrive,” he said after Sunday’s Aragon Grand Prix.

Marquez’s decision to quit his lucrative factory Honda deal a year early to take on a 2023-spec Ducat at Gresini was a move made by to him to understand whether he can actually enjoy racing again.

That year’s RC213V is one of the worst machines to ever grace a grid and it sapped Marquez of all confidence. At the time, he said, carrying on with Honda was the easy option but likely a road that would lead to an early retirement.

After all, he put his body through utter misery since 2020 to get back to the competitive level that won him six premier class world titles in seven years between his debut in 2013 and 2019.

The 2020 Spanish GP where he badly broke his right humerus completely changed the trajectory of his MotoGP career. Three operations followed that year to correct the injury.

And while he was able to win three races in 2021 on the Honda, it was clear his arm was still a big limitation - as anyone’s would be if it was 30-plus degrees out of rotation.

A fourth major operation followed in summer of 2022. He got himself back to his peak but Honda didn’t follow.

Prior to this year’s Aragon GP, Marquez had managed nine podiums in total so far but a first win on the Desmosedici was still missing.

From the off in practice at the newly resurfaced and low in grip Aragon track, Marquez looked like his old self. He topped both of Friday’s sessions, was fastest in third practice and dominated for pole. He then cruised to a first sprint victory by 3.3s over Jorge Martin.

He then led every lap from pole in the grand prix, beating Martin again by 4.789s to score his first Sunday win since the 2021 Emilia Romagna GP and the 60th of his career.

It also marks the 30th on anticlockwise circuits, and that has been an important factor in the Marquez “masterclass” - as crew chief Frankie Carchedi called it.

How Marquez dominated at Aragon

Overnight rain across the weekend meant track conditions kept changing every time the riders ventured out of pitlane.

Marquez’s ability to feel conditions better than anyone else coupled with his speed in left corners, particularly through Turns 9 and 10 (the latter named after him), where the data showed he was achieving more lean by four or five degrees than his rivals, created a potent combination.

That was significant because everyone was forced to run the medium rear tyre after the soft was withdrawn from the allocation due to excessive heat generation caused by the new surface.

A number of riders were seen struggling for traction on the sighting lap coming out of left-handers as that side of the tyre needed time to warm up. Not a problem for Marquez.

By the start of lap three of 23, Marquez was already two seconds clear of the pack. This was aided by Martin and Tech3’s Pedro Acosta scrapping it out for second. Once free, Martin was able to put in some good speed, taking the fastest lap away from Marquez on the third tour with a 1m48.365s.

But he would put no pressure on Marquez. On lap nine Marquez fired in a 1m48.186s to take the fastest lap back again. On the same tour, Martin did a 1m48.417s. Marquez was still lapping in the 1m48s bracket as late as the 19th tour, while Martin’s pace was 1m49.668s.

One small decision on Sunday morning also proved crucial for the #93. The warm-up session was run on a damp track. Marquez did just one lap and then pulled into pitlane, electing against setting a time.

So good was his feeling in the dry on his Ducati, he feared muddying the water by adding wet track knowledge to his brain.

It’s a small detail but one that highlights the “pressure” that Marquez put on himself coming into the grand prix. He said “I knew today was an important day” after winning the grand prix.

While he knew he could win a race again in 2024, the fact that it hadn’t come prior to round 12 of the season was something of a surprise to most. The step between the GP24 and GP23 has been bigger than expected, and it appears that is something he has come to terms with recently.

Crossing the finish line, Marquez stood proudly above his Gresini-run GP23 showing his arm muscles. When he won the 2021 Emilia Romagna GP 1043 days prior, he celebrated similarly - but only striking the same pose with his still recovering left arm. A nod to that moment, it was also a sign that Jerez 2020 has finally be laid to rest. It’s no surprise, then, that the 2024 Aragon GP holds a special significance in his own personal win rankings.

“I put it at an equal level to 2021 in Germany,” Marquez noted.

He said he has approached 2024 “like a rookie”, building up his confidence step by step on the Ducati after 11 years of riding a Honda. It’s been clear from the off this season that the potential has been there, enough especially to convince Ducati to destabilise its entire eco system to promote him to its factory squad for 2025.

Aragon, though, feels like the moment ‘the real’ Marc Marquez stood up again. But he has urged caution that this is now his new norm.

There’s 296 points left up for grabs in the 2024 title chase. Martin holds a lead of 23 points over Francesco Bagnaia, after he was taken out by Alex Marquez in a late collision to cap off a thoroughly miserable weekend for the reigning champion.

Marquez is 70 points behind Martin at this stage. Mathematically, he’s not out of the running. And there are several good tracks coming up for Marquez in the back half of the season where he could add to his win tally.

But does he genuinely feel like a title contender?

“No, we are far,” was his reply on Sunday.

This very much falls in line with his mentality about 2024. But what about 2025?

His nearest rivals will take brief solace in the fact that Aragon was an odd weekend, with track conditions playing a significant part in Marquez’s utter domination of the weekend.

For the time being, it’s an outlier in a form guide that has so far seen him consistently one of the fastest three riders right now - but still not quite on the level of Martin and Bagnaia.

That said, the chains are now off. He’s proven to himself that he can win still and can do it on a different bike. His understanding of the Ducati is as such, now, that he is getting as much out of it as he can.

If he can add a few more wins to his scorecard through to the end of the season, that won’t do him any harm at all. But, regardless of how the 2024 Aragon GP can be dressed up by his rivals, they will all head to Misano feeling a little uneasy about the future…