Plenty are tipping Marc Marquez to usurp back-to-back MotoGP world champion Pecco Bagnaia subsequent season.
Bagnaia went back-to-back as Jorge Martin’s crash on the closing race of the season in Valencia secured the Italian’s crown for an additional 12 months. He ended up ending 39 factors forward of Martin, who had received Saturday’s dash to take the title race all the way down to the wire.
Marquez completed the 12 months in 14th having additionally crashed out in the identical incident that noticed Martin’s hopes dashed. Six-time MotoGP champion Marquez will probably be becoming a member of Ducati in 2024, and TNT Sports pundit Neil Hodgson expects that to make the distinction.
READ MORE: Sports host leaves MotoGP icon Jorge Lorenzo ‘displaying world champion focus’
READ MORE: ‘I bought up shut and private with a MotoGP race – the velocity scared the life out of me’
“Marquez is the better rider,” former British Superbike champion Hodgson mentioned. “Ask anyone in the paddock, anyone who’s an ex-racer, current racer, mechanic… the people who clean the toilets will know Marquez is a better rider.
“Marquez is one other degree. He’s the best motorbike racer I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen some good bikers. I’ve been concerned on this sport for 30 years.
Who will win the MotoGP championship in 2024? Give us your predictions within the feedback part under
(Image: AFP by way of Getty Images)
(Image: C1 MEDIA)
“Marquez is just an animal. He’s your Ayrton Senna of talent, your Messi level of football. It’s like looking at Messi and David Beckham, Beckham is good but we’re talking different levels. Marquez is that good.
“He’s by no means had the most effective bike, he is received six MotoGP titles and by no means had the most effective bike, you will see how good it’s. It might [make it a bit boring], however I need the most effective rider to win. If which means we see a dominant 12 months, I need to see it. I need to see somebody journey a bike and do issues that I can not do and I can not comprehend.”
Hodgson’s TNT Sports colleague Michael Laverty, who spent three years racing in MotoGP, additionally expects Marquez to place up a problem.
(Image: GETTY)
Get your final World Darts Championship 2024 preview right here
It’s essentially the most great time of the 12 months – and we have got the right journal to get you within the Ally Pally spirit!
With this 12 months’s PDC World Darts Championship set to be one other thriller, Daily Star Sport have ready your final 48-page preview journal to get you prepared for all issues arrows.
From interviews with Grand Slam of Darts champion Luke Humphries and former world champions Gary Anderson and Rob Cross to in depth options on the PDC’s angriest moments and why they begin on 501 – we have got you coated.
Order yours to purchase instantly proper right here!
“The addition of Marc Marquez on a Ducati is going to be awesome because he just lights up every race,” Laverty mentioned. “He’s going to be interesting. Whether he’s above the current Ducati crop, I’m not sure.
“I feel he’ll be at the least on their degree with Martin and Bagnaia subsequent season. The Aprilpas are getting higher, KTM are enhancing on a regular basis. I actually pray that Honda discover one thing and get again on the extent. And related for Yamaha.
“There are a lot of potential champions next time, it’s getting closer all the time. It’s why we love MotoGP.”
(Image: Getty Images)
And TNT Sports commentator Gavin Emmett is already trying ahead to subsequent season given the twists and turns we noticed within the closing weeks of 2023.
“I think other people will be involved, I really do,” Emmett mentioned. “I feel Marc Marquez along with his swap to Ducati, I feel he’ll get within the combine. Whether he’ll win the championship, who is aware of what’s going to occur.
(Image: GETTY)
“The Championship can turn on a sixpence. The beauty of MotoGP is its unpredictability. We have had ten different winners across sprints and Grand Prix, eight different winners on a Sunday. That’s pretty much half the field that have won a race this year.
“It’s so laborious to foretell. Bagnaia will undoubtedly be within the combine, Martin will undoubtedly be within the combine. Bastianini and Marc Marquez are ones I’ll be taking a look at subsequent 12 months.”
Watch live MotoGP on TNT Sports. TNT Sports is available through its streaming destination discovery+ and across all major TV platforms. This isn’t Just Sport, This is Everything. For more info visit: www.discoveryplus.com/gb/sports activities