Fabio Quartararo’s forgotten Marc Marquez battle: “I miss that”
Fabio Quartararo says his most memorable Marc Marquez battle wasn’t for a win, but a forgotten fight at Austin.
During a spectacular rookie 2019 MotoGP season, Fabio Quartararo finished runner-up on five occasions.
Each time, the rider standing between the then Petronas SRT Yamaha star and a debut victory was reigning champion Marc Marquez.
In Thailand, where Marquez clinched his eighth world title, the pair fought ferociously to the chequered flag, with the Repsol Honda rider winning by just 0.171s.
Other close defeats for Quartararo at the hands of Marquez that season were at Misano (0.903s), Motegi (0.870s) and Valencia (1.026s).
After moving to the factory Yamaha team, Quartararo claimed the first of his eleven MotoGP victories at the opening round of 2020, the race where Marquez suffered a career-changing arm injury, before winning the world title in 2021.
The rise of the European manufacturers, combined with Marquez’s prolonged injury struggles, saw both riders drift away from the sharp end in the seasons that followed.
But when asked to recall his favourite battle with Marquez, Quartararo didn’t choose one of their high-profile 2019 victory duels.
Instead, he pointed to a largely forgotten fight over sixth place at the 2022 Americas Grand Prix.
“The ones of 2019 were nice because they were for the victory, but [I’d pick] 2022, in Austin, where we fought a lot. It was really nice. I miss that,” Quartararo said.
Starting ninth, ‘COTA king’ Marquez needed a strong launch to keep his hopes alive of an eighth win at the circuit. Instead, a technical issue left him 24th and last.
Riding in his first race since Qatar - after missing Mandalika and Argentina due to double vision caused by a heavy Indonesian crash - Marquez was already 18th by the end of lap one and 14th by lap three.
Lapping faster than the leaders, the #93 broke into the top ten on lap seven by passing Pol Espargaro.
After setting a new lap record, he dispatched Johann Zarco and Quartararo in quick succession to move up to seventh with seven laps remaining.
Jorge Martin was Marquez’s next target, but Quartararo had latched onto the Honda’s rear wheel, seemingly inspired by the sight of his old rival just ahead, and both overtook the future Pramac champion.
The Yamaha rider even briefly passed Marquez in the closing laps before the pair crossed the line in sixth and seventh, separated by just 0.143s.
"At the end, we had a really nice battle with Fabio, and when the race finished, I was destroyed," acknowledged Marquez.
"Riding behind an eight-time world champion, you always learn something," smiled Quartararo.
"I think Marc will be a title contender this year, I will give my best to be a title contender, and so I think we will have more [battles] like that, for better positions..."
That prediction proved optimistic, and MotoGP is still waiting for a re-run of the earlier Marquez-Quartararo victory duels.
Nevertheless, Marquez finally returned to the top of the MotoGP world in 2025, his debut season as a factory Ducati rider, ending a record five-year wait since his previous title.
Quartararo, meanwhile, was on course to end a three-year victory drought at Silverstone until he suffered a ride-height failure while holding a comfortable lead.
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.