Ducati, Marc Marquez humble: "Starting from scratch"

Simone Paparusso

Marc Marquez archives the third and final day of testing MotoGP in Sepang with overall positive feelings, despite posting the fourth best time behind Fabio Di Giannantonio, third, Marco Bezzecchi, second, and his brother Alex at the top of the time sheets. The Ducati rider, on a track that is not among his favorites, still managed to be competitive on both the dry lap and race pace, although without matching the performance of his brother Alex Marquez, the fastest of the day.

The nine-time world champion, who spoke in the media scrum, however, urges caution in judging the results of the last day of testing in Malaysia: “We made small steps and felt better little by little, but it remains a test, with a lot of rubber on the track. Now we have to wait for Thailand to really understand how everything will evolve”.

Experience teaches Marc not to take anything for granted. “From one year to the next, everything changes. The competition grows and you have to know how to reinvent yourself. You cannot think that one season will be the same as the previous one: every year you start from scratch” reiterated the Spaniard, warning those who see him dominating even the next MotoGP World Championship.

Marquez then praised the work done by the Borgo Panigale manufacturer: “Ducati works on aspects where others would not even think of intervening. The changes are small, because there was not much to improve and the engine is the same, but it is this attention to detail that has made Ducati the most dominant bike in recent years”.

Particularly encouraging was the balance from the physical point of view: “I go home satisfied, especially with the condition. I would have signed up to do a test like that. On the first day I managed, on the second day a little less, and today I pushed hard. This will serve me to take a further step forward. Comforting for his fans were Marc’s words, given the nasty crash that had involved him and Marco Bezzecchi and prevented the reigning world champion from racing the last two world championship races.

The gaze is now turned to the Buriram tests, scheduled for Feb. 21-22, which are already considered very indicative. “In Malaysia I would like to be first, but here we do not return until October. Thailand will be a more decisive test, because in five days there you already have a race” concluded the Ducati rider, recalling the first official race weekend of 2026 in Thailand, at the Buriram circuit, starting Feb. 27.