“Bitter taste” for Marc Marquez: “A shame, it was a fraction of a second”
Marc Marquez eyes redemption in Qatar after COTA mistake ended five-race win streak.
Left with a bitter taste after Texas, where his perfect run of five straight wins ended in a crash from the lead, Marc Marquez is ready "to get back to work" in Qatar this weekend.
The COTA tumble, when Marquez cut too much kerb while holding a safe advantage over team-mate Francesco Bagnaia, also cost him the world championship lead by one point to younger brother Alex Marquez.
“Closing a weekend that has been practically perfect until that point with a crash is something that leaves a bitter taste,” Marc said ahead of this weekend.
“It’s a shame, it was a fraction of a second and we need to get back to work and continue to stay focused."
On paper, Qatar is not an ideal venue for Marquez to regain dominance, having only a single previous MotoGP win to his name.
That came back in 2014, at the start of Marquez’s second premier-class season.
To put that into perspective, Valentino Rossi, Jorge Lorenzo and Andrea Dovizioso - all long retired - have won more recently in Qatar than Marc Marquez.
But while Marquez’s Honda was losing competitiveness, he’ll return on the factory version of a bike - the Ducati Desmosedici - that has won the past five Lusail races in a row (including Sprints).
“We have great potential, Ducati has always been competitive on this track and we can do well,” said Marquez, who finished fourth (GP) and fifth (Sprint) on his Ducati debut for Gresini in the 2024 season opener.
Bagnaia, who won last year’s Qatar MotoGP, is eleven points behind Marc Marquez heading into this weekend.
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
