Throughout his career, Marc Márquez has excelled clearly at two particular circuits: Sachsenring (German GP) and Circuit of the Americas, which hosts the Americas GP this weekend.
The current Gresini Racing rider made his MotoGP debut in 2013, which was also the first year of Austin on the calendar. At that time, he achieved his first victory in the premier class.
From then on, Márquez always finished first at the Americas GP until 2018, always securing pole position. In 2019, he suffered his first defeat: starting from pole position, he was leading the race comfortably when he crashed.
After the pandemic, the return to Texas was in 2021, and once again, Márquez emerged as the winner – despite still dealing with the consequences of the injuries to his right arm. In 2022, a problem at the start forced him to make a comeback race, but he still managed to finish sixth.
Last season, Márquez could not compete in the Americas GP due to injury. He returns now two years later, aiming to continue the strong performances shown in Qatar and Portugal.
A contender for the top positions, the six-time premier class champion has a competitive Gresini Ducati Desmosedici GP23 at his disposal. And the Italian team already knows what it’s like to win in Austin, having seen Enea Bastianini do it in 2022.
Will Márquez now be able to do the same and return to the top step of the podium in Austin? In theory, he has the skills and possibilities to do so. In practice, the answers will begin to emerge on Friday with the practices.