Marc Marquez’s dad warns of MotoGP rookie ‘faster than my son’

LCR MotoGP team boss Lucio Cecchinello says Marc Marquez’s father told him reigning Moto2 champion Diogo Moreira was “faster than my son on a dirt bike”.

Brazilian youngster Diogo Moreira will step up to MotoGP next year with LCR after signing a three-year deal directly with Honda.

Moreira has turned heads ever since he came into the grand prix paddock, with the Brazilian winning his first world title in 2025 in the Moto2 class.

His time in the smaller categories has gained Moreira some high-profile support, including from the Marquez camp.

In an interview with Italy’s GPOne, Cecchinello believes Moreira has all of the hallmarks of a good MotoGP rider, while revealing an amusing anecdote about the Brazilian from Marc Marquez’s father Julia.

“The project with Diogo is very interesting, because he is very young and has been riding motorcycles since he was three years old,” he said.

“His father put him on a dirt bike when he was very small, and the good thing about Diogo is that he has proven to be fast on all the bikes he has raced on.

“Julia, Marc Marquez’s dad, said to me, ‘He goes faster than my son on a dirt bike!’

“He made a Supermotor World Championship appearance and won, humbling the second-placed [rider].

“In the [VR46] Ranch flat track, he was among the fastest. In Moto3, he won a race. In Moto2, he is world champion.

“There are all the right conditions for him to be a good rider for MotoGP. Of course, we have to give him time to learn.”

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Moreira is one of two rookies making their debut in MotoGP next year, along with three-time World Superbike star Toprak Razgatlioglu.

At the recent post-season Valencia test, Moreira was just over half a second slower than Razgatlioglu, who had already ridden the Yamaha a week earlier in a private outing.

Moreira’s step to MotoGP coincides with Brazil’s return to the calendar after a two-decade absence.

MotoGP will race at the Ayrton Senna circuit in the Goiania region of the country, marking the first event in Brazil since the Rio Grand Prix in 2004.