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When MotoGP arrives at Austin one always looks around for the sheriff, and it is no coincidence that it is precisely the iconic wide-brimmed hat that covers the head of the world championship riders on the Texas podium. The difference is that at Austin in MotoGP more than looking for the new sheriff you have to watch out for the old one, namely Marc Marquez: the Spaniard over the years has become a true authority in Austin, where he holds the record of no less than seven victories since the circuit's debut in the world championship. In essence, Marc Marquez instills the same fear in his opponents at Austin that the legendary Wyatt Earp did when he entered the O.K. Corral.
Indeed, a past rival like Dani Pedrosa commented, "We know that Austin is a circuit where Marc is very strong. We will see if Pecco Bagnaia will be able to come back a little." A declaration echoed by Bastianini's warning: "We have a problem with Márquez because he is very fast on this track." In fact, the Rimini native has been the only Italian rider to break the series of Spanish successes at Austin, on a Ducati precisely in 2022. And if we consider that Marc comes from two perfect weekends, full points, and appears to be fully in tune with his Ducati GP24.9, the most competitive bike (according to the results) on the grid, the challenge for his opponents rather takes on the contours of a crusade.
The story
Marc's success at Austin over the years is inextricably linked to Honda, let's be clear about that. The Spaniard baptized the newly arrived American circuit back in 2013, his debut year in MotoGP. It was the second round on the calendar, the first of those six victories that delivered him his first world title in the premier class. In 2014 he repeated the result, in his record-breaking year with 13 wins, another round, another title. The domination continued in the following years until 2018, always riding the Honda, with the Texas asphalt and its eleven left-hand turns always ready to welcome the Spaniard as a good friend.
In 2019 the winning streak was interrupted by a mechanical chain failure; in that year it was Alex Rins on the Suzuki who took the honours, while in 2020 there was no racing because of Covid. In 2021, however, back from injury and after three operations on his right arm, Marc Marquez returned to lay down the law at the Circuit of the Americas, beating the then-future world champion Quartararo by an impressive 4.6 seconds, one of his only three victories that year. The 2022 race was a special case: Honda, which by then was struggling in those years, left him standing at the start. Finally the Spaniard managed to climb up the rankings finishing 6th, while Bastianini crossed the finishing line handing Ducati its first and only victory on the U.S. track. In 2023 he did not take to the track, after being injured in the crash with Oliveira at Portimao. Many thought that 2024 would be the year of his return. The Spaniard, now riding Team Gresini's Ducati GP23, took the lead only to miss out due to a crash at turn 11, it was only his third race riding the Borgo Panigale creation.
Marquez today
Fast forward to today, and Marc Marquez seems to have completely put his injury years behind him. Some joked that the Spaniard has a little bit less than in the past. The Spaniard after all has never denied it, the years and injuries can change a rider's body and stamina, because today's Marquez certainly seems to be more cautious, although the nature that one has simply does not change. The fact remains that the move to Ducati Gresini first and then to the official red team have now handed him the weapon to be able to lay down the law even outside American borders. The first territories conquered, in Thailand and then in Argentina, raised the white flag from the first free practice sessions, and in today's MotoGP he who begins well... has very good odds of succeeding, and the layout of the circuit with so many left turns is congenial to the Spaniard. For Marc this 2025 to date is the best MotoGP season debut since 2014, the year of his record number of wins. As Ducati team manager Davide Tardozzi ironically pointed out, "The Austin circuit is a kind of garden for Marc, but in Qatar we expect Pecco to fight with him for victory," because in short, with Marc Marquez at Austin that's exactly what you expect.
Ahead of the challengers
Your teammate is also the first man you have to beat, the age-old adage goes. This was not exactly the case in the first two rounds of the season, although Pecco has always accustomed us to a low-profile start to the championship in order to perfectly tailor-make the bike to himself. Bagnaia for his part, however, has never won in Texas in MotoGP, not even in his seasons when he won the title. On the Circuit of the Americas, the Turin native can boast a third step on the podium in 2021, and a victory in Moto2 in 2018. However, it should be emphasized that the Italian can go strong in qualifying, having taken two poles there, so much will depend on the strides Pecco can get from his bike, unless he is already entertaining the idea of returning to the GP24.
A GP24 that Alex Marquez is taking full advantage of, having fought head to head and alongside his brother in the last two GPs. The youngest of the Marquez family has not yet managed to score a win, and the statistics on the Texas circuit do not play in his favor, but never say never. However, he is not the only Spaniard from whom Marc might have to watch his back, because Alex Rins can boast two wins here, in 2019 on the Suzuki and in 2023 on the Honda, a testament to the rider's great adaptability. Aprilia is still without Jorge Martin, but both Bezzecchi and Ogura have produced some excellent performances and on the American circuit Noale can already boast a success in the past. As for the KTMs, Poncharal's team can boast a team of winners. Both Bastianini and Vinales are among the most recent world championship winners on the Circuit of the Americas, both have given satisfaction to their respective previous manufacturers, Ducati and Aprilia, but in this 2025 season they still seem to have some discrete difficulties in adapting on the RC16s so making predictions about this is far too early.
