Bad news for Marc Marquez as “best motorcycle we’ve ever seen” is pinpointed

Marc Marquez has been fighting against the best-ever MotoGP bike this season, it has been claimed.

The Ducati GP24 has been described as the top machine in premier class history.

Title rivals Pecco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin are both equipped with the latest version of the Desmosedici, making the task for Marquez even more difficult on a year-old specification.

“Pramac have the same tools as Pecco. The GP23 is not a bad machine but it’s a year old, it’s not the latest and greatest,” TNT Sports’ Michael Laverty assessed.

“It struggles to maximise the tyre. It’s not as good as the new bike from Ducati.

“Pecco said at the Misano test that the new chassis works with the new tyre even better.

“It’s ominous for the other contenders in 2025. Ducati are ahead of their rivals.”

Marquez, of course, will hugely benefit from a step up in machinery next season.

His promotion from Gresini to the factory Ducati squad means he will possess equal machinery to Bagnaia in 2025.

Martin will ride an Aprilia while Bastianini will be on a KTM, having fled Ducati who chose Marquez above them for their factory bike.

The importance of the latest specification Ducati is visible this season, Laverty insists.

“Bastianini with early-season form would be a proper thorn in the side of Martin and Pecco,” he said.

“But to win a title, stats say that you have to be on the latest Ducati.

“The GP24 is the best motorcycle we’ve ever seen, I’ve got to say.

“It is the cutting edge right now. It works so well, it’s so fast, it breaks lap records every weekend.

“They don’t cease to push development, there is more to come.”

MotoGP will enforce an engine freeze for the 2026 season, ahead of the major technical shake-up the following year.

This rule could further play into the hands of the dominant Ducatis, Neil Hodgson believes.

And it creates a potential problem for Aprilia and KTM, currently their nearest rivals, who cannot afford to put a foot wrong.

Hodgson explained: “It works well for the Japanese manufacturers, not for Aprilia and KTM.

“Ducati will have been all over it, saying ‘we can freeze from today!’

“It means at Round 1 of 2025, whatever engine has been selected will continue through 2025 and 2026.

“It puts a lot of pressure on Aprilia and KTM to make the right decision this winter. If they make the wrong decision, they’ve got two years of a disaster.”