Is Marquez’s reputation going against him after Rins, Martin comments?
Since making his MotoGP return Marquez has already been in the thick of intense racing and in the case of Aragon, two big collisions with Fabio Quartararo and Takaaki Nakagami.
While it’s hard to blame Marquez for either of those incidents, the Repsol Honda rider was once again at the centre of discussion in what was his first race back since Mugello.
Marquez, who then produced two extremely good performances in Japan and Thailand, went one better in Australia as he claimed his first podium of the season and 100th in MotoGP.
But after the race both Rins and Martin called the Spaniard’s overtaking ‘on the limit’, although Rins in particular said it was good racing.
"We respect each other. All the overtakes were on the limit but in a good way," is what Rins said after the race, although Martin said he was ‘tired’ of Marquez’s moves.
Martin added: "There were some points where it was on the limit, that's for sure, because I was already on the inside, and I was losing another position. That's why I was tired of those manoeuvres.
"But we all know what happened with this situation. I will try to be just as aggressive as the rest for the future."
As we know, Marquez has been surrounded with plenty of controversy during his time in MotoGP - whether that’s fierce battles against Valentino Rossi in Malaysia and Assen or with Jorge Lorenzo in Jerez, just to name a few.
Then there’s also the more recent on track situations which have involved Marquez consistently following other riders during practice and qualifying when needing a fast lap.
On several occasions Marquez has followed the likes of Joan Mir, Jack Miller and Francesco Bagnaia during the last couple of seasons, which was again highlighted with Bagnaia losing out on second place during Q2 at Phillip Island because of it.
However, racing throughout the field has been extremely tough and sometimes over the edge in 2022, while there’s also no rule against seeking a tow in order to better your lap time or position.
It makes one wonder if Marquez's reputation is leading to comments such as the ones provided above by Rins and Martin or if there are valid arguments being made.
On the face of it, Marquez was in stunning form at Phillip Island and his overtakes were just as spectacular to watch, but is that how his rivals view his racing, perhaps not.
