Marc Marquez had "plenty of duels" but is chasing elusive win at one MotoGP track

Marc Marquez has won 70 times as a MotoGP rider but none of them have been at the Red Bull Ring, despite seven appearances at the Austrian track.

While the circuit has proven to be Marquez’s toughest, he came agonisingly close to victory on three occasions - losing out to Andrea Dovizioso by 0.176s in 2017, 0.130s to Jorge Lorenzo in 2018 and then 0.213s to Dovizioso again in 2019.

And those defeats all came at the hands of Ducati riders, while Marquez was at Honda.

But the tables have now turned with Marquez enjoying a dream debut season at the factory Ducati squad, winning eight of 12 GPs and the last ten races in a row, including Sprints.

The eight-time world champion is now poised to exploit the hard braking and acceleration strengths of the Desmosedici at the Red Bull Ring, which he previously battled against.

“I can't wait to get back on track after the holidays: I've taken a break and rested,” said Marquez, who starts the weekend with a 120-point lead over younger brother Alex (Gresini).

“The Austrian track has never given me great satisfaction, but it has provided plenty of duels right down to the last corner, the last meter before the checkered flag.

“I'm ready to tackle this second part of the season in the best possible way”.

The Red Bull Ring is one of four tracks where Marquez has raced in MotoGP and never won. However, he has made far fewer appearances at the other venues: Portimao, Indonesia and Buddh.

Since the Red Bull Ring returned to the calendar in 2016, Ducati riders have won on all but two occasions:

Miguel Oliveira triumphed in a restarted 2020 Styrian round in a final corner showdown, while fellow KTM rider Brad Binder snatched victory with slicks in the rain in 2021.

Pecco Bagnaia: Austria 'favourable to Ducati'

Meanwhile, Marquez's team-mate Francesco Bagnaia returns to Austria holding a five-race win streak at the circuit dating back to 2023.

However, Pecco is still searching for a solution to braking and corner entry issues on the GP25 this season.

“This track has always been very favourable to Ducati and in the last three seasons we've achieved the best possible results,” Bagnaia said.

“I'm happy to get back on track here and restart this second part of the season. Many of my favourite tracks await us: technical, yet spectacular! I can't wait to get out on track”.

Bagnaia, who joined Marquez and the other Ducati MotoGP riders in a recent training session at Balaton Park, starts this weekend 48 points behind Alex Marquez.