Marc Marquez Lists 2025 Championship Contenders After Strong Pre-Season Test

Saajan Jogia | Feb 16, 2025

Apr 14, 2024; Austin, TX, USA; Marc Marquez (93) of Spain and Gresini Racing MotoGP before the MotoGP Grand Prix of The Americas at Circuit of The Americas. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Factory Ducati rider Marc Marquez has revealed the riders who he thinks will be key contenders for the 2025 championship. The Spaniard recently completed a strong pre-season test, delivering an impressive lap time in his debut with the factory team. However, with the reduction of Ducatis on the MotoGP grid, it remains to be seen if the outfit can maintain dominance.

Marquez got up to speed in the pre-season testing at Sepang and Buriram and offered important feedback that helped Ducati finalize the 2024 GP24 engine for the GP25 MotoGP bike. Despite being at an advantage over his teammate Francesco Bagnaia, who struggled in the test, Marquez believes the two-time MotoGP world champion would be a serious contender for the title this year.

He also acknowledged that three other riders could pose a threat to his championship prospects, including Jorge Martin. The reigning world champion crashed on the first day of pre-season testing at Sepang and underwent surgery for fractures on his hand. When Marquez was asked on MotoGP's YouTube channel on Day 2 of the Buriram test about who he thinks will be the 2025 world champion, he said:

“I will not say.

“Of course, we will try to fight for it, but I know that I have a very strong teammate [Francesco Bagnaia]; I have a very strong housemate, my brother Alex [Marquez] that he was super-fast during all the preseason and today also he finished second.

“There will be different opponents that can be [Pedro] Acosta; we will see how [Jorge] Martin can be with Aprilia – don’t forget Martin, he’s a very good rider and [Marco] Bezzecchi shows that the Aprilia is working well.

“So, [we will] try to do our job in our garage, and let’s see what we can do.”

Marquez also spoke on the importance of race simulation. He said:

“Of course, the race weekend is different. But that race simulation is one of the most important points because I was thinking to test my physical condition, to try also this new bike, the 2024, in a race simulation.

“I was calm, I was smooth, no mistakes – of course, the tyres were dropping, but in a constant way, so I was able to manage.”

Despite the engine hiccup, Marquez topped the timesheets on both days at Buriram. Calling the test a positive one that provided Ducati with clear development direction, the six-time MotoGP world champion added:

“ It has been a very good preseason, especially because we started already in a very good way from the first day in Malaysia.

“Then we keep working, we try many things on the bike, and everything we had on the list – Sprint simulation, race simulation – was done.

“So, the most important is also about the technical aspects; it’s quite clear what we need, still there are some new items that I need to understand well. But I’m happy, and now looking forward to starting the season.”