Marc Marquez makes intriguing claim about his current level in MotoGP

Marc Marquez says he is not at the same level he was at the 2020 Spanish Grand Prix when he was with Honda despite his dominant start to MotoGP 2025 on the Ducati.

The eight-time grand prix world champion has won all four sprints and three of the first four grands prix this season on the factory Ducati to lead the standings by 17 points.

After his win at the Qatar GP, Ducati’s David Tardozzi says the current version of Marc Marquez is the “most complete”.

But Marquez doesn’t believe he is riding better than he was five years ago on the Honda, referencing specifically the “amazing” level he had at the 2020 Spanish GP before crashing and badly breaking his right arm.

“No,” he replied when asked on Thursday at Jerez if he felt he was riding better than he was five years ago.

“In 2020, this grand prix, my level was amazing. The feeling on that point, with my physical condition and all those things, was amazing.

“It’s true that right now I feel different. It’s not that I feel better of worse. I feel different, I feel like I’m fast but still it’s difficult to understand where the limit is.

“On that bike [the Honda], after 10 years, I understood exactly where the limit was and which points I needed to improve, to attack.

“With this bike this year, I’m still discovering some areas that I introduce a bit in Qatar, trying to improve in those right corners and here I will keep going because I think I can do a step there.

“And yeah, let’s see, but now I’m different. Better or worse? Different. I will not say if I’m better or worse.”

Marc Marquez has “more every time” on current Ducati

Last year’s Spanish GP marked the first time Marquez scored a grand prix podium as a Ducati rider, after battling with Pecco Bagnaia for victory.

Going from the GP23 last year to the GP25, which he dubs the ‘GP24.5’ due to the bike not running a full 2025 engine spec as well as chassis and aero, Marquez feels like he is far from finding the limit on his current package.

“I mean, of course the step I feel between the GP23 and the ‘GP24.5’ is really big,” he added.

“What I need for my riding style is the corner-entry, that with the GP23 I was more limited.

“With the ‘GP24.5’ I feel super good, it gives me that confidence that still looks like every time you have more and more and more and you don’t know where the limit is of that bike.

“In terms of the GP23, I was crashing many times with the new tyre on the time attack, trying to understand why, and with the GP25 I feel well on that point.

“So let’s see if I can keep going and keep pushing, and almost I’m interested to try this bike in other types of circuits, like here in Jerez, where everything is smaller.”