In just four days, Marc Marquez has brought Ducati to its knees, irritated reigning double world champion Francesco Bagnaia and surely his mentor Valentino Rossi, and redoubled his chances of winning this title to justify his choice ahead of Jorge Martín.
As much as there were people within the paddock who felt that the Spaniard had lost influence as a result of the ordeal he went through over the last four years, with a badly broken arm at Jerez in 2020 followed by Honda's waning competitiveness, the move that will see him wear red for the next two seasons confirms that he remains the cornerstone of the championship.
