Neil Hodgson column: You are watching greatness when MotoGP legend Marc Marquez is on track, here's why

During the summer break, as I reflected on what we've seen so far on track, I wasn't surprised by Marc’s dominance, and I think the whole paddock wasn't surprised either. The general feeling here is, and it has been for the last decade, that Marc is at a different level. 

He is an absolute one-off, and I've said this before, and I'll say it again: I've been involved in motorcycle racing for 30 years, and Marc Marquez is the best all-round motorcycle racer I've ever seen. If AI could design a motorcycle racer, it’s him. Marc's got every attribute you need, and it basically starts with his desire, his will to win. 

I've seen incredibly competitive sportsmen and women over the years, but Marc's desire to win is this - he needs to win. It's not a want, it's an addiction. 

He has to win, and he's prepared to put it all on the line. It's his aggression and his bravery that are on another level. Eight world titles, incredible wealth, it's probably a net worth of over £100 million, which is a lot for anyone, let alone a motorcycle racer. 

It's his hunger, and then it's his skill level, his actual natural God-given talent. He's got the ability to ride on the absolute limit. The limit is that if you go slightly over it, it's a crash. 

Now, obviously, a MotoGP bike is a dangerous machine. It can go over 225 miles an hour down the straights, but you can go around corners at over 150 miles an hour. So all top world championship riders ride close to the limit, but very few are able to ride at the absolute limit and control that bike, because if you go off track, it's a big crash.

Marc, throughout his career, has always danced on the edge. Hence, he crashes quite a lot in practice sessions. But what this enabled him to do is hone his skills so he could feel that edge. It’s an invisible line, but he can feel it. For example, when the front of the bike slides, normally that ends in a crash, but he's able to put his elbow on the ground and his knee down, but it's like a cat-like, bizarre, laser-quick reaction - and nobody else can do that.  Honestly, no one's ever been able to do that. 

I watched Valentino Rossi throughout the whole of his career. He was incredible, but during that period of racing, there were only - to be totally honest - four bikes that could win back then, and Valentino was the best of that bunch. But he was always on one of the best bikes, and that enabled him to win so many world titles. 

Marc won the majority of his world titles on an inferior machine when he was riding for Honda. So when he dominated even in 2019, where he absolutely dominated, that was not the best bike to be on.  In fact, it was probably the third-best bike to be on, but Marc was able to make the difference.

Everybody feared what had happened this year was going to happen. Everybody feared that if you eventually put Marc on the factory Ducati, nobody would be able to touch him, and look at the results. The only person who's really been able to beat him this year has been himself when he's crashed out of the lead. So you are witnessing a phenomenon. 

There's never been anyone like him before, so I think what we have to do is enjoy what we see, enjoy what we witness, because you are watching greatness. 

Marc will win the championship this year. Obviously, he's got a huge lead. That's not a big statement unless he sustains an injury. Going into next year, I can't see anyone being able to lay a glove on him. If that's the case, and he wins again, that'll be 10 world titles, which will be ridiculous. 

In the previous five years, he's dealt with serious injuries. The serious arm injury, of course, and also a serious eye injury, where he had blurred vision. He had a condition called diplopia. So, if he sustains another big impact to his head, that is something that can determine when he retires, but with his will to win, he's prepared to risk all that. 

Genuinely, it's like he doesn't care. He'd rather chase another world title than think, 'Actually, I'm 32 years old now. I've done well, life's good. Now it's the time to stop'. But that's not Mark's approach. He's a winning machine. 

I don’t think he will be tempted into a move to Honda, because Marc's No. 1 goal is to destroy everyone, and he destroyed everyone on a Honda when it wasn't as competitive. He had to take unnecessarily unnecessary risks, and he had beaten himself up. 

By the time we get to 2027, he's going to be 34 years old. He'd be crazy to think, 'I'll tell you what, I'm going to go back to Honda where it all began.'

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