Key judgement on Marc Marquez's form - Exclusive
Herve Poncharal believes Marc Marquez is now harder than ever to beat.
Five years after what would be a career-threatening arm injury at Jerez, Marc Marquez is back on top of the MotoGP World Championship.
The Spaniard, now riding for Ducati Lenovo, has stormed to seven wins from the opening eight races of the 2025 season, all from pole position.
His latest victory came in Qatar, where he held off a surprise challenge from Tech3 KTM’s Maverick Viñales.
“For me, this is the best Marc Marquez we ever saw,” said Tech3 team boss Herve Poncharal in an interview with Crash.net.
“He’s kept that raw speed, but now he’s got much more experience, not just of racing, but of life, with all the tough times he's been through."
Poncharal once called Marquez’s 2020 ride at Jerez “one of the most amazing performances” he’d ever witnessed.
Now the Frenchman believes the six-time MotoGP champion has added maturity and tactical awareness to his riding brilliance.
“It used to be said that Marc Marquez's main rival was Marc Marquez. And what we saw in round one at Buriram, calmly backing off to be behind Alex [and raise his tyre pressure], maybe wouldn't have happened before.
“Although he's always been a machine on the bike, now he’s ticking all the other boxes as well."
Marquez’s regeneration has thus been as much mental as physical.
“I think he’s found that peaceful state of mind. Being in the right environment, on the right bike. He’s found what was needed to perform, and I don’t think he will let that chance go away," Poncharal said.
Even a rare mistake while leading in Austin didn't derail Marquez's momentum.
“Marc is a very clever person. He learned from that,” Poncharal said. “Many people thought Qatar would be tough for him because it’s not one of his favourite tracks, but we saw what happened. At the moment, he looks almost unbeatable. Almost!”
It’s the “almost” that gives Poncharal hope.
“Believe me, with Enea and Maverick, we will do everything we can to try and repeat what we did in Qatar.
“Maverick showed it’s possible to challenge Marc. So let’s make it happen again.”
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
