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MotoGP arrives at Jerez, the first European leg of a championship that so far has witnessed an almost unchallenged Marc Marquez dominating, except for his slip at Austin, the only blemish on an otherwise perfect start to the season in which the Spaniard has achieved every single pole and trophy available. The victory in Qatar, "the most important weekend of the season," in fact handed him back the lead of the world championship briefly borrowed by his brother Alex.
Jerez always the scene of battles
The Jerez circuit has already in the past been the scene of great battles and duels that have gone down in motorcycle racing history. Just 20 years ago, it was 2005, Rossi crossed wheels with Gibernau exchanging the lead several times, with on-the-limit overtaking in a thrilling duel right until the last corner. In 2013 it was the turn of Lorenzo against Dani Pedrosa, the former starting from pole and defending himself against Pedrosa's attacks, and after an intense exchange of overtaking, the latter came out on top of his compatriot. Four years later, in 2017, MotoGP put on a great show with a four-way battle between Pedrosa, Marquez, Lorenzo and Dovizioso. It was a festival of overtaking and lead changes, with once again Pedrosa coming out on top. The darling of Sabadell, now retired from competitive activities and test rider for KTM, will not be on the track as he was last year (when, by the way, he finished third in the sprint), but certainly the fifth round of the season should provide great entertainment for the fans and perhaps even reshuffle the values on the track of a championship that at the moment is in the hands of Marc Marquez.
Bagnaia and the need for a generational statement
However, it would be wrong to take the outcome of a race for granted based on mere statistics. On the contrary, it is precisely in Jerez that we might finally see Marc's opponents raise their heads and have their say. A response that would be a generational statement , because after all, that is what we are talking about. The Spanish champion resurrected from the past fighting against the champions of the present, first and foremost Bagnaia who precisely on the Spanish circuit began to build his fortunes in that fateful 2022, the year in which he won his first MotoGP world title. The Italian has not missed a victory since then, and already in Qatar, had it not been for the mistake in qualifying, he showed signs of a reawakening. Because it has to be said, Bagnaia has always been a diesel at the start of the season, but this - with numbers in hand - is his best start of the championship, thanks perhaps precisely to the impetus given by having such a rival on the other side of the box. Similarly, Alex Marquez may here want to free himself from the joking shackles of "Mr. Second Place," and the idea that the younger brother has preferential treatment for the elder makes no sense at all. After all, we have already seen it, Marc let himself be passed to keep the tyre pressure under control and then took the position back without too much trouble, he simply had more, he does not need favoritism. Also not to be ruled out are surprise swipes from the two Ducatis of the VR46 team. Morbidelli is on his second podium of the season, in Qatar he tried to get away but tyre wear got the better of his strategy, while Di Giannantonio, had it not been for the contact with Alex, had the pace of the top riders.
Winning in Jerez to conclude with the past
Jerez could therefore prove to be a watershed that will separate the past from the present in Marc's racing life. The past, that of the injury that nearly ended his career, and the present, that of rebirth, the one on the Ducati. Marc Marquez has not won at Jerez since that fateful 2020, so winning here would mean for him to draw a line under the past, it is a special and symbolic appointment that the Spaniard cannot ignore. Already last year he came close to victory, right behind Bagnaia, on the Gresini GP23, but the time was not yet ripe. The situation is radically different this year, with Marc Marquez in full control of the situation, playing with his Ducati between the curves of the circuits as with the minds of his opponents, observing them, calibrating the forces on the track. The time for hiding behind declarations is running out, as in a hypothetical game of Poker, by now his hand is there for all to see, because the Marquez-Ducati pairing is an overpowering one that only Marquez himself has so far been able to stop. At Jerez, however, the values on track could change, and Marc Marquez himself has emphasized it over and over again: "in the European circuits it will be another championship" and the opponents, Alex and Bagnaia in primis, but without ignoring the other Ducatis, will be there ready to take advantage of every opportunity, of every mistake he makes. Les Jeux sono faits, as a hypothetical racing god-croupier would say, all that remains is to watch and enjoy the show.
