Marc Márquez knows the world is watching him. Every move is analyzed by his mechanics, his fans, his brother, and all his rivals. The rider from Cervera, after reclaiming the MotoGP World Championship a few months ago, begins his title defense. The price you pay when you're champion is that right afterward, everyone will want to dethrone you. But Márquez, atop his Ducati Desmosedici GP26, seems ready for the challenge, having almost fully recovered from the shoulder injury that required surgery at the end of last season. "I feel I have room to improve, based on my previous form before the injury. I can start the World Championship ready to fight, but we'll have to see how the races go, as they're always more demanding than practice. My shoulder is fine, but I still need more energy," the champion cautiously stated this week.

Marc Márquez's career will always be marked by his July 2020 crash at Jerez. His bike launched him off the road, and the impact with the asphalt was violent. The inertia battered him, sending him into somersaults, his body spinning out of control. After the marshals assisted him, the Catalan rider sat down on the first plastic chair he found outside the danger zone. His movements before removing his helmet already suggested an injury, but no one imagined it was the beginning of a cruel period that would nearly end his career. He had broken his right humerus. At first glance, a minor injury. But it required four operations and ruined three seasons.

The years go by and the relationship between Marc Márquez and Valentino Rossi remains tense. Although ll Dottore It's been four years since he left MotoGP. Thus, every visit by the Cerverí to the Misano Circuit, located 50 kilometers from Urbino, Rossi's birthplace, is like going to the enemy's home. The Italian has been present at the circuit this weekend, and even crossed paths with Márquez in the pit lane, but they didn't look at each other. On Saturday, with Márquez's crash during the sprint, the cameras saw Rossi's smile slip away, celebrating. On Sunday, the World Championship leader got his revenge: he won the long race, to the desperation of the home crowd, and left the title within easy reach. He could be champion in Japan and equal Rossi's nine titles, seven of them in MotoGP.

Marc Márquez publicly explained on Thursday that he didn't want to gain another 10 points in the World Championship standings over his brother at this Catalan Grand Prix because that would mean Àlex hadn't had a good weekend at home. However, these 10 points would give Marc a match point at the San Marino Grand Prix. to mathematically become Moto GP world championMarc's wish seemed to have come true when Alex took the lead alone in the sprint race, but the younger Márquez brother crashed at Turn 10 with just three laps remaining. Thus, Marc took the win, extending his lead at the top of the standings to 12 points. If Alex doesn't do better than Marc in the long race tomorrow, Sunday, it'll be a game-changer for the next race.

The Spanish MotoGP Grand Prix at the end of April marked a turning point in the way Marc Márquez handles the media attention during this period of dictatorial dominance that will lead him, barring a serious accident, to winning a world championship again six years later, having risen from the ashes. At the Jerez Circuit, those around him realized there were too many people hanging around Marc during Grand Prix weekends. Media, guests (one of those who attended was tennis player Carlos Alcaraz), fans... So, Ducati, his team, took measures so he could focus more on the competition.

There's no doubt that he's the best MotoGP rider of at least the last decade. But in this second winning streak, he's also proving himself to be an excellent strategist. Marc Márquez, when not riding solo to victory from the start, possesses the patience and vision of a chess player. He's already 32 years old and knows how to master the impulsiveness that characterized his early youth. A further example of this was his victory at the Balaton Park circuit (Hungary), which marked his debut in the MotoGP World Championship, witnessing another step for the Cervera rider toward the world title.

It's utopian to imagine a situation in which Marc Márquez doesn't end up winning this MotoGP World Championship. The Czech Republic Grand Prix has allowed him to take a lead of over 100 points in the World Championship standings—120, to be precise. His victory in Sunday's race, ahead of Italian Marco Bezzecchi and Murcia's Pedro Acosta, coupled with the crash of his brother Àlex, who had a disastrous weekend, practically seals a fight that for months has seemed like a win for him.

On Friday, he crashed twice. The first time, he strained his left arm, and the second left him with groin pain and blood on his chin. But these setbacks weren't enough to stop Marc Márquez (Ducati), either in Saturday's sprint race at the Circuit d'Assen (he has won nine of ten this season) or in Sunday's feature race.

It's not easy being a motorcycle fan in Italy these days. On the one hand, they see Ducati dominating, but it's thanks to Marc Márquez. The Cervera rider (Ducati Desmosedici GP25) has achieved his fifth victory of the season on the historic Italian circuit of Mugello, in front of a section of the fans who booed him, as Márquez defeated the local riders. The Catalan is even further ahead of the World Championship in the category after another exhibition, in a race in which he waited for the key moment to overtake his brother, Álex Márquez (Ducati Desmosedici GP24), and his teammate, the Italian Francesco. Pecco Bagnaia (Ducati Desmosedici GP25). Unlike other times, Bagnaia was unable to defend his third place on the podium against the attacks of his compatriot Fabio Di Giannantonio (Ducati Desmosedici GP25), who, with two laps remaining, overtook the two-time world champion.

Marc Márquez is on cloud nine and doesn't want to come down. The rider from Cervera is having a perfect start to the season. If he achieved the pole position, won the sprint race and also the race, in the third round of the calendar he is going down the same path. At the Grand Prix of the Americas in Texas, he won the sprint race just hours after taking the pole for this Sunday's race (9 p.m./DAZN). After defeating Argentina and Thailand, he now conquers Texas.

Everything seemed set for Marc Márquez's sixth consecutive victory. He had made a great start, escaped his rivals, and was leading the Grand Prix of the Americas alone. But a mistake in the intersecting corners ruined everything, and it couldn't be more appropriate. The Cervera rider fell at Turn 4. Although he was able to get back on track, his Ducati had suffered too much damage and he ultimately had to retire. This was great news that paved the way for Pecco Bagnaia to victory and allowed Àlex Márquez, second in the standings, to lead the MotoGP World Championship for the first time.

Marco Márquez or Álex Márquez? Álex or Marco? That's the only question at the start of MotoGP: who will finish ahead and, therefore, who will win the corresponding race. The Cervera brothers are monopolizing the start of the championship with an almost insulting advantage. No one can challenge them in the Grands Prix. Not even Pecco Bagnaia, a two-time champion who, on paper, rides the best bike on the grid, but far from fighting for victory, must settle for just a podium finish. And he doesn't always succeed.