Marc Marquez Optimistic to Defend MotoGP Title

JAKARTA - Seven-time world champion Marc Marquez is keeping high optimism to defend the world championship title even though he has not won one of the three MotoGP races that have taken place in this year's competition calendar.

The racer nicknamed The Baby Alien said that his chance to clinch the eighth world championship title in MotoGP is not closed because the race has just started and there are still so many series.

"If you exclude me (in the world champion favorites) from the start then it's a big problem. I'm still fighting, there are still a lot of points to be won, and there are still many races left," said the Ducati rider.

Marquez has so far not been on the podium at all from the three series that have taken place. His journey was marked by failing to finish in the opening series which took place in Buriram, Thailand, due to a technical problem with the tire exploding.

He then managed to take fourth place in the Brazilian MotoGP, behind Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) in first place, Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM) in second place, and Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse) in third place.

Marquez's desire to improve both results failed again at the United States MotoGP at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA), Texas. He was given a long lap penalty so that he finally finished in fifth place.

Marquez admitted that the improvement in the performance of his Desmosedici GP26 bike has been very visible so far, but did not deny that Aprilia has made more progress than they have.

"That's why we need to keep working, united more than ever, and keep moving step by step. I think even small changes can increase the confidence of the riders," he said.

Marquez is currently in fifth place in the standings with 45 points. He is 36 points behind Bezzecchi who managed to climb the highest podium in the three series that have been contested.

The next MotoGP race will take place at the Jerez Circuit, Spain, on April 24-26, 2026. Originally, the next race was scheduled to be held at the Lusail International Circuit, Qatar, but was postponed due to the war between the United States-Israel and Iran.