Marc Marquez is a man who knows how to win a MotoGP championship and is the third most decorated 500cc rider of all time.
The Spaniard has experienced just about everything you could think of on the race track, and that enables him to understand the current MotoGP title predicament.
Both Francesco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin are fighting for the 2024 crown – an intense battle which has three races to go.
While Marquez has been eliminated from contention and is 14th in the drivers’ standings, he has seen a similar situation many times before and knows how the riders will be feeling.
Marc Marquez insists Bagnaia and Martin won’t be ‘enjoying’ title fight
Marquez won six championships in seven years, beaten only by the legendary Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo in that period.
Speaking to Crash.Net, he mentioned that both Bagnaia and Martin wouldn’t be going through the easiest of periods right now.
“Of course, it’s not an easy situation for both of them and, a long time ago, I remember what you can feel when you are in that position,” he said.
“You are not enjoying it, you are just suffering, because you know in three races you will know if you are world champion or not. Apart from that, they are in a good shape, they are super-fast.
“Of course, Martin has this small advantage. Pecco maybe needs to take a little more risk to recover that advantage, but Pecco already knows how to win a championship, he’s two-time world champion.”
Who is in the best position to claim the championship?
Judging by the 20-point lead that Martin holds over Bagnaia, he has a slight advantage for the time being – but that could all change in an instant.
He knows all too well after crashing out of the title finale last year, allowing his Italian rival to claim his second overall triumph in the process.
Avoiding a repeat of that would go a long way toward making him a MotoGP champion for the first time, but he’s going to need to remain consistent.
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Five fewer victories than Bagnaia in 2024 is a misleading statistic, as he has finished second on eight occasions himself.
A podium at each of the remaining three races would probably ensure that he claims the crown, but there will be intense pressure on him and he doesn’t have tons of experience to keep him calm.