Marc Marquez’s Pride in Battling 2024 Bikes: A Close Second at Mugello Sprint Highlights Competitive Spirit

Marc Marquez expresses pride over competing with 2024 motorcycles

Marc Marquez stated, "Competing against the 2024 models fills me with pride."

Marc Marquez secured his sixth consecutive podium finish, trailing Francesco Bagnaia in Saturday's Mugello MotoGP Sprint event.

The rider from Gresini Ducati finished the race 1.469 seconds after the current world champion, marking his seventh second-place finish of the season, including both Sprint events and Sunday Grand Prix races.

The question arises as to when Marquez will claim the top spot on the podium again, given that his last victory in MotoGP, which was his 59th overall and final win with Repsol Honda, occurred at Misano in 2021.

"Absolutely, a series of runner-up finishes. However, there's no cause for concern!" Marquez assured MotoGP.com. "Really, I'm optimistic it will happen, but should it come down to ending up in second place for every Sprint race here on out, I'm all in!

"Indeed, we're lacking in some aspects, yet on the bright side, we've secured a position among the top three."

Marquez underscored, possibly in an unprecedented manner, his ability to compete directly with the latest 2024 Ducati models, even though he's on the older GP23 model. Additionally, he cautioned that he's now quick in 'all areas'.

"I'm truly thrilled, particularly since coming into Mugello, much like Barcelona, I had my reservations," he mentioned. "However, with this motorcycle, I need to let go of the tracks where I've previously faced challenges. With this motorcycle, I feel comfortable on any circuit."

"I'm in the thick of it battling alongside Bagnaia and Martin once more. Bastianini was also incredibly quick, though he collided with Martin. We're in the mix with all 24 bikes. It's truly something that fills me with pride."

Fabio di Giannantonio secured the position as the second-highest ranked GP23 competitor, finishing in seventh place on Saturday.

Should Marquez secure a win on Sunday, it would mark the remarkable achievement of rider #93 capturing Ducati's 93rd Grand Prix victory. This would continue the unique sequence observed with the 27th win by rider #27 (Casey Stoner), the 63rd by #63 (Bagnaia), the 72nd by #72 (Marco Bezzecchi), and the 89th by #89 (Jorge Martin).

The athlete who has clinched the world championship title eight times will move up from fourth to third place on the starting lineup due to Bagnaia's penalty, yet he maintained:

"Frankly, I'd rather begin in fourth than third since the gap is incredibly slight, and being in fourth places you at an advantage when it comes to braking."

Marquez believes Bagnaia is still the main competitor for tomorrow's race, but also thinks Bastianini, riding the other factory Ducati, will be a strong contender.

"Pecco is on a different level. He's the sole rider capable of maintaining such a steady pace. He's incredibly quick, remarkably consistent, and always precise. So, it's going to be challenging," Marquez commented.

"In this physically demanding race track, it's a real test of endurance. Let’s wait and see. I believe Pecco and Bastianini are currently the quickest competitors on the track."

Jorge Martin, who started from the pole position and was leading in the championship standings, suffered a fall from third place. This incident allowed both Bagnaia, who is trailing by 27 points, and Marquez, who is 32 points behind, to close the gap on the top Pramac

Pedro Acosta of KTM secured the third spot on the Sprint podium.

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