Let's talk MotoGP: Marc Marquez is back!

It’s time to take stock. Like every year for three years, Let's talk MotoGP is embarking on a fairly important undertaking: taking stock of each driver at the end of the 2024 season, today, Marc Marquez's turn. For a good part of the winter, we will go back through the rankings in reverse, to the point of talking in detail about the world champion's campaign. Are you ready? Here we go!

Yesterday, we returned to the case ofEnea Bastianini; click here to find the corresponding article.

The return of the king

Marc Marquez's 2024 season seems pretty easy to judge, for once. I think that none of us, all bad faith left in the closet, could say that this is a failed exercise. Marc was very strong, brilliant, even. Surprising? Probably not. Let's start there: as I have said several times, no driver has amazed me last year. Marc Marquez, who is certainly the one who left the strongest impression on me, did not surprise me. GP23 or GP24, we knew that he was going to be among the best regardless of his machine, as long as it bore the emblem of the Borgo Panigale firm. He was afloat at Honda, managing to score podiums and poles on a bike that rarely enters the top 10 in the hands of others, and this since 2021. Obviously, within a MotoGP team as well oiled as Ducati Gresini,
it could only work.

As it happens, I predicted his year correctly. Photo: Michelin Motorsport

From a results point of view, it did the job. He concludes the season with three masterful victories on Sunday, a success in Sprint – maybe less than I expected in the short format –, two poles and seven other podiums. This is, statistically at least, his best season since 2019, but the one he had with Honda in 2021, also punctuated by three successes, seemed just as great to me when understanding the context.

To talk about such a pilot, I think we can free ourselves from the figures, especially when they are so evocative. Forever, this Marquez campaign will be a return to business ; affairs that he has left for too long to pilots who do not come close to his intrinsic talent. Once he had tamed this Desmosedici GP23 which was substantially inferior to the GP24 – given the results of other drivers over the vintage n-1 –, he was one of the favorites, competing for victory every weekend.

A year of highlights

Where I find it good, and better than all the others,
it's about creating strong moments. Marquez can turn a simple pass into a highlight ; a spark of genius can be born at any time. He is capable of signing constructed victories, as if he were not playing in the same category as the others, which he did in Aragon. But, he can also make the right decision at the right time, have that extra something, that incomparable genius and (perhaps) unequaled in motorcycling history. This was seen in Misano, in Australia, but also at Le Mans, against Bagnaia. He fell a lot (24 goals, second highest total on the grid), but ultimately quite a bit when it mattered most: a reminiscence of 2019. This season punctuated by his exploits will not soon be forgotten.

The best driver in the world?

After his victory at Phillip Island, I presented Marc Marquez as the best driver in the worldnot without attracting the wrath of his detractors. But I maintain: personally, I firmly think that he is the best currently, that this year 2024 has given him the mental weapons to fight, once again, for a world title.
He got a little lost at Honda – even if he was still among the strongest – always wanting to push himself until he fell. This year, in addition to being devilishly fast, he was consistent in his performance, combative to the core, and thoughtful. As proof, the Grands Prix of Thailand and Malaysia, finished in 11th and 12th place respectively… after falling. When it was necessary not to risk too much, like during the final for the third place so dear to his team, he knew how to contain himself and bring back the necessary points from P2.

A year of pleasure, of return… but also of preparation. Photo: Michelin Motorsport

Certainly, two consecutive falls on the overseas tour weighed down his statistical results, not to mention an engine failure in Indonesia. But from Aragon to Australia, he had scored approximately the same total points as Bagnaia and Martin! So why not include him in the discussion of the best current driver?

Some flaws

There are a few black spots. First of all, even if he has calmed down, he has unfortunately not forgotten the excessive aggressiveness that has characterized him for a long time. Once again involved in a large number of clashes – Joan Mir can attest to this – he did not hesitate to come into contact with the best, sometimes in a rather clumsy manner. Don't think I'm brushing this asideit really works against him according to my criteria. Then, this ease of falling in Q2. I really think that's what cost him a potential second place in the general classification. He struggled for too long in qualifying. I didn't really expect it, because he is the best in history in this exercise. Then, to finish, I still don't like this habit of taking a wheel to do a time. I want the GP24 to be the best bike, but I don't find it worthy for an eight-time world champion. This is just an opinion.

Conclusion

Clearly, a boss season. Not surprising because it remains Marc Marquez, and he is one of the greatest drivers in history, and also, there is always something to complain about with his profile. I did not mention his signing with Ducati, a significant fact on the scale of a career. In my opinion, his thoughtful efforts and this gain in maturity despite equipment that allowed him to try everything in each race are rightly rewarded. He is the right choice, because he is Marquez, on the one hand, and on the other, because he is the great Marquez.

What did you think of his 2024 season? Tell me in the comments!

As a reminder, this article only reflects the thoughts of its author, and not of the entire editorial team.