Factory Ducati rider Marc Marquez described his 2025 MotoGP season opener at Thailand as “the best weekend of my life.”
The Spaniard started his new chapter at the factory Ducati by claiming pole position and winning the Sprint and Grand Prix.
Marquez overcame a tyre pressure scare in the Sunday race, earning the maximum 37 points for the weekend and leading the championship for the first time since his 2019 success.
He made history by becoming the second rider, after Casey Stoner, to win on his debut for the factory Bologna manufacturer.
The race ended a 1-2 for the Marquez brothers, with his younger brother Alex securing second place, finishing 1.7s behind.
“It was super emotional, not just to start this new journey with Ducati Lenovo with a victory, more to share first and second with my brother,” he said to TNT Sports.
“I think this is the best weekend of my life, more than when we were world champions in different categories, it was super good but this is the premier class, we don’t have more than this.
“We were the best riders in a normal race, in a dry race. To share that first second position in the qualifying, the first second position in the sprint, first second position in the race for the whole weekend is amazing.
“I’m super happy for Alex and super happy also for my team. I want to say thank you to all the guys at Ducati Lenovo.”
Marc Marquez’s worry was due to tyre pressure fears
On Lap 7, the elder brother Marquez had a bizarre moment where he opted to drop back behind his brother in second place. He sat behind the back of his brother’s bike for the vast majority of the race, before regaining the lead on Lap 23.
The Spaniard cruised home for the remainder of the race. Though it was unclear what the issue was at the time, the eight-time champion later explained the events that occurred in the race.
“Yes, I forgot already but yes. It was a super demanding race because the feeling was super good in the beginning, I already opened up a nice gap, but then I realised the tyre pressure was not enough so I was looking for a slipstream.
“I only had three laps of margin and for that reason I overtook Alex with three laps to the end. It was quite critical because a penalisation would’ve been a disaster, but we worked together, we’re a team and we did it.
“I know the season has only just started but it’s the best way to start. The confidence is super high, we start in a very good way in Malaysia, we continue in Thailand and now in the race weekend.
“On Sunday, always my teammate is Mr Sunday and he’s super fast, so I was a bit worried for that reason so I was super concentrated. I had pace, we have a good bike so we need to continue in the same way.”
READ MORE – Marc Marquez prevails in MotoGP Thai season opener
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