First Marc Marquez win predicted - “proud to have tyre marks on his leathers”

Marc Marquez will win on a Ducati for the first time at the next race, it has been predicted, after falling short at the Spanish MotoGP to Francesco Bagnaia.

Reigning champion Bagnaia got the better of Marquez in a to-and-fro scrap at the front in Jerez.

But enough can be seen in the progression of Marquez on the year-old Desmosedici to give paddock onlookers confidence that he will end his win-less streak at the next round.

• 2024 Spanish MotoGP, Jerez - Race Results

“Marc will be back in Le Mans. He will take victory in Le Mans,” Michael Laverty said on TNT Sports.

“Everything is building towards it.

“Remember how he rode in Le Mans last year on that dog of a Honda? He was scrapping. He was sensational.

“Now, the confidence is going. Riding tight? He’s thinking about everything because he has had so many crashes.

“Now he’s got a second-place under his belt he can relax and ride like the old Marc Marquez.”

Sylvain Guintoli assessed Sunday’s Jerez race: “The start of the race was complicated for Marc, and this determined the race.

“He had to push a little bit, to come back. His front tyre, we know, pressure went up by trying to make inroads.

“Marc said he was tight - he means riding tight. Not loose on the bike, really getting all your positioning on the inside of the corner. He’s tight onto the bike which makes you a little slower.

“He didn’t want to crash straight away and throw it at the start of the race.

“At the end of the race, he wouldn’t have minded. He was just going all-out to get that win.”

Laverty replied: “He’ll still be annoyed. He’s a winner through and through.

“The victory was within his grasp. I don’t think he could have done a lot more.

“He really worked his tyres hard. The front pressure goes up. Then it becomes precarious, you could lock up and end up in the gravel again.

“He played every card that he had at his disposal.

“Pecco accelerated off the last turn a little better. Parts of the track, Pecco was better. In parts, Marc was better. It was a good yo-yo over the lap, the see-saw effect.”

Guintoli said: “We know Marc is super strong in left turns. The way he made ground and lined people up at the exit of 7 and 8, to have a go into 9. It was unreal.

“Pecco retaliating, not giving an inch to Marc, that was beautiful.

“Both of them enjoyed the fight. Marc was proud to have tyre marks on his leathers.

“He was like: ‘It was a war, but I lost it’.”

The physical contact as Bagnaia held off Marquez’s overtake attempt was the highlight of a brilliant battle.

It might have ended with both riders in the gravel, as they were in Portimao earlier this season.

“Incredibly close,” Laverty said. “The pictures show Pecco didn’t pick the bike up too much.

“He allowed Marc’s elbow to lean on his tyre, and he kept turning.

“That’s riding at the Ranch. In flat-track you do that a lot, you let someone ride on top of you.

“It’s a skill in itself. Only those two can do it, at this level.”

Guintoli said: “We learned that Marc is 100% back.

“He warned everybody coming here that the adaptation from Honda to Ducati was finished, he knows what the Ducati requires, the riding style.

“That’s what we saw this weekend. He was very consistent through practice, great qualifying in the wet, so good in all conditions. Then he delivered in the races, as well.

“Marc is back! He has a competitive package and he’s making it work.”

Marquez is sixth in the MotoGP standings after Jerez, 32 points behind championship leader Jorge Martin.