'Impeccable' Marc Marquez 'had another gear' - TNT Sports experts react to dominant MotoGP Sprint win in Thailand
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Updated 01/03/2025 at 14:48 GMT
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Marc Marquez won the season-opening Sprint race in Thailand at a canter on his Ducati factory team debut. The TNT Sports experts reacted to the Spaniard's standard-setting victory, with Michael Laverty describing it as "impeccable" and Sylvain Guintoli saying he "had another gear he didn't use." High praise was also reserved for rookie Ai Ogura's "ride of the day" with a P4 finish.
Lights out! Marquez flies off line as MotoGP racing kicks off for 2025 with Thailand Sprint
Video credit: TNT Sports
Marc Marquez "had another gear he didn’t use" during a MotoGP Sprint win in Thailand where he was "impeccable" from the start, according to TNT Sports experts Michael Laverty and Sylvain Guintoli.
The six-time world champion enjoyed a dominant Saturday at Buriram, claiming pole position ahead of his brother Alex in qualifying before leading the Sprint race from start to finish.
It marked a perfect debut for the Ducati factory team, beating team-mate Pecco Bagnaia in third and taking full advantage of the absence of injured reigning champion Jorge Martin.
Guintoli and Laverty were trackside in Thailand for TNT Sports and both were left feeling that Marquez did not need to reach his top level to win on the opening day of racing in the 2025 MotoGP season.
"When you look at the body language during the race, he looked like he had another gear that he didn’t use," Guintoli said.
"Marc looking strong, we were expecting him to be strong, but I was expecting a little bit more of a fight."
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Lights out! Marquez flies off line as MotoGP racing kicks off for 2025 with Thailand Sprint
Video credit: TNT Sports
"Once he got the start and a little bit of daylight between him and Alex, it was almost a foregone conclusion," Laverty added.
"Everyone knows he has the speed this weekend. He was impeccable today; he didn’t make a mistake.
"He almost looked like he was cruising from the halfway point, which is slightly worrying, but full credit because he delivered."
Marquez has looked in imperious form all weekend, coming a narrow second to his brother Alex in Friday’s practice before his qualifying and Sprint triumphs on Saturday.
- Dominant Marquez claims Sprint victory in Thailand on Ducati debut
- Marquez v Bagnaia, ‘amazing’ Ogura and Honda revival: Guintoli and Quirk's MotoGP weekend preview
Two-time world champion Bagnaia, meanwhile, struggled as he was forced into Q1 following a difficult practice session before recovering to come third behind the Marquez brothers in both qualifying and the Sprint.
However, Guintoli and Laverty believe it is too soon to get carried away about Marquez’s early-season form ahead of Sunday’s Grand Prix, live on TNT Sports and discovery+.
"We know Marc is going to be strong, but you look back four months ago (to the 2024 Thailand GP), and Ducati locked out the top eight, so this is a Ducati track," Laverty said.
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Video credit: TNT Sports
"I’m not surprised that Marc was strong because he’s tested here, and it’s not really been Pecco’s track over the years. I don’t think we can read too much into it."
Guintoli pointed to Bagnaia’s tyre strategy as a possible reason for his struggles and why things might change on Sunday.
"It could have come from the front tyre choice as well," Guintoli said.
"Pecco didn’t really like the soft front and in the top four everyone was on the soft front except Pecco. We’ll see tomorrow, because then it will be harder to use the soft front for the whole race."
‘Special’ Ogura produces ‘ride of the day’
For all Marquez’s brilliance, it was rookie Ai Ogura who was branded "rider of the day" by Guintoli.
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'Rider of the day' - Rookie Ogura earns standing ovation after P4 finish on MotoGP debut
Video credit: TNT Sports
The Japanese rider made waves on his MotoGP debut by claiming a stunning P4 finish in a grid packed with top-level race experience.
Ogura, who took the step up to MotoGP with Trackhouse after winning the Moto2 Championship last season, finished nine places ahead of fellow rookie Fermin Aldeguer (Gresini) to catch the eye of Guintoli.
"This was pretty special. We know the level of MotoGP, we know there are many experienced riders," Guintoli told TNT Sports.
"It’s extremely hard to come and be competitive. We’ve seen that with Aldeguer. We know Aldeguer has got speed; he’s on the best bike arguably on the grid.
"With the rookies, coming up and doing something like that is pretty special. Kudos to Ogura and today for me it is the ride of the day."
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Bagnaia '60-70% happy' with podium finish, says Ogura 'can fight for the top'
Video credit: TNT Sports
Bagnaia was also impressed by Ogura's debut after having to work hard to keep the 24-year-old at bay.
"I was trying to close the gap to Alex and Marc in the first laps but I was struggling, so I just said maybe the lesson from last year is important, so keep calm," Bagnaia told TNT Sports.
"I was trying to manage the gap to Ai behind me, but he was impressive because he was always there.
"He was very close and in the last lap was gaining again. Impressive by a rookie and I think tomorrow will be good for him because he can fight for the top."
Ogura explained to TNT Sports after the race that he was taking everything he could from the experience of his MotoGP race debut, including trying to learn from the decorated rider ahead of him.
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Ogura reacts to 'amazing' MotoGP debut after pushing Bagnaia to wire - 'Nice experience'
Video credit: TNT Sports
"I was just trying to stay behind [Bagnaia] as much as I could, just to learn," Ogura said.
"He was riding really smooth and after I saw how he was riding I was just trying to copy it. It was a really nice experience. I can’t wait to go to the main race."
The Thailand GP starts at 8am UK time on Sunday, March 2, live on TNT Sports and discovery+.
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Watch and stream the 2025 MotoGP season live on TNT Sports and discovery+.
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