Marc Marquez “a little more nervous than I should be” ahead of factory Ducati MotoGP debut

Marc Marquez has confessed to feeling the nerves ahead of his factory Ducati debut this weekend in Thailand.

The eight-time World Champion dominated preseason testing, including topping both days of the test at the Buriram International Circuit – the same venue as is hosting this weekend’s season opener – and therefore comes into his Ducati Lenovo Team debut at least among the favourites to challenge for victory on both Saturday and Sunday.

Despite the promising signs over the winter, however, Marquez says he’s feeling “nervous” ahead of the Buriram race.

“I'm always a little more nervous than I should be for the first race of the season, it's always a special GP,” Marquez said ahead of this weekend’s Thai MotoGP.

“I'm happy to race in Thailand, we arrive here after a good pre-season and with a good base, we worked really hard and well with the team.

“The races, it's true, are a different thing, you have to take care about all the details, but I really want to start and do well, this will certainly help for the season.”

Marquez’s Ducati Lenovo teammate, Francesco Bagnaia, admitted that he arrives to the first race after an imperfect preseason, but in any case feels that the start of the season represents a “special moment”.

“The first GP of the season is a special moment, a race that has always a little bit different taste,” he said.

“I come from a pre-season that was overall positive, not perfect, but where we worked a lot to get the bike in the best possible conditions and make the most solid choices in terms of development direction.

“From Friday the thing starts to get serious on a track that I like and that in recent years has been well suited to the Ducati, I can't wait.”