At a time when Francesco Bagnaia and Jorge Martín are the benchmark riders in the Ducati teams in MotoGP, this year there’s a new player in the game – Marc Márquez, who joins Gresini Racing.
Despite having last year’s version of the bike, the six-time premier class world champion has already shown that he has the potential to fight for the top positions – he even has a podium, finishing second in the Sprint race in Portugal.
In both opening Grand Prix races of the season, Márquez has been in the mix for top five positions, leaving the impression that a podium is just a matter of time and victories may well be within reach.
He is, therefore, a potential factor of «imbalance» within the Ducati «universe». And, as seen in Portimão with the incident involving Bagnaia, it’s not unthinkable that disputes for position could result in some tense moments or controversies.
Johann Zarco analyzed Márquez’s arrival at Gresini in an interview with Canal+, stating: ‘It’s going to be a very interesting season. I think Marc Márquez within Ducati is the wolf in the hen house. Pecco is very calm, but Marc is unsettling, so it’s going to be very interesting. And for Ducati, Marc Márquez’s image is also huge’.