“I saw the data” and this is Marc Marquez’s most groundbreaking skill

The most crucial skill in Marc Marquez’s incredible repertoire has been pinpointed and explained.

Marquez sits top of the MotoGP standings knowing another world championship this year will bring him level with Valentino Rossi’s total of nine.

As he furthers his legacy, an insider to his remarkable rise has pointed out what he could do that his rivals could not.

“His control of the front brake was my biggest thing,” Cal Crutchlow told TNT Sports.

“When he brakes, the front brake is locking. You play with the brake lever into the corner.

“Marc figured out that the more you lean the bike into the corner, the more deceleration you get. Which is completely true.

“But if you lock the front wheel, the first thing you do is pick the bike up. That’s a natural instinct.

“Marc was the opposite. He leaned more.

“Nobody else could do it.”

'Impossible' to copy Marc Marquez despite seeing his data

Crutchlow was riding for Honda’s satellite project while Marquez was the big star of the manufacturer, in his prime and winning MotoGP titles.

“I’ve had the privilege of riding with him for six years at Honda,” Crutchlow explained.

“I saw the data, I saw what he does week-in week-out. If I could do it, I would do it, but it’s impossible.

“The way he rides the bike, the cat-like instincts that he’s got, the mentality, the team he had around him, everything just worked.

“To do what he’s done over a long period of time is amazing.

“As riders, you go into a race weekend always believing you could win. The reality is, in the back of your mind, you’re racing against Marc Marquez.”

Marquez has continued to add new tricks over the years, as he coped with his Honda’s decline in competitiveness, before jumping to a year-old Ducati and now the factory version.

Neil Hodgson spotted where Marquez is unique: “He’s able to slide the front. We saw Mick Doohan and Kevin Schwantz slide the rear.

“No-one has been able to control a front and rear slide.

“He’s got it all, he’s the perfect package. Think of his race craft in all conditions. He loves a flag to flag. No-one adapts to conditions quicker.

“On a Friday if it’s dirty, everyone struggles with no grip, but Marc is one second quicker.

“He had years on the Honda when it wasn’t the best bike but he made the difference. He has been beaten in championships when he didn’t have the best bike.

“I’ll never forget Cal saying, when he rode with him and saw the data, ‘if Marc is given a factory Ducati, he will absolutely destroy everyone’.

“Look now. No-one has got close to him.”

Crutchlow believes the current version of Marquez, who is leading the championship, is worse than the version from years ago.

Marquez survived a career-threatening arm injury to return to motorcycle racing and Crutchlow insists that took its toll.

“That injury? I still don’t believe to this day that he is riding to 100%,” Crutchlow said.

“The Marquez 2015-2019, on a package which wasn’t as good as the packages he was against, if he rode like that now? They wouldn’t be within half a lap of him.”