Why Marc Marquez has a love-hate relationship with Circuit de Barcelona

Marc Marquez has described Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya as “one of the hardest” tracks for him, adding that he would hate it if it wasn't his home MotoGP venue.

Six-time MotoGP champion Marquez was born in Cervera, located just 85km west of Montmelo, the home of the Barcelona MotoGP track.

The Spaniard has won two premier-class races so far at the Catalan Grand Prix: first in 2014, when he began a 10-race winning streak, and again in 2019, when he was almost unbeatable at Honda.

However, for a rider who is accustomed to so much success - with 98 world championship wins, including 72 in MotoGP - the Barcelona track has often been a thorn in his side.

Following his victory at Balaton Park a fortnight ago, Autosport asked Marquez how he viewed this year's visit to Barcelona. Now that he is riding a factory Ducati, his appreciation for the track might change.

"I like Montmelo because it's my home track, but I'd hate it if it wasn't," the championship leader said. "If the track were on the other side of the world, it would be the last one I'd go to. But since it's my home race, it's always a very special grand prix.

"It's not that the track is ugly; on the contrary, it's one of the most beautiful on the calendar, but it's one of the ones that has always been hardest for me.”

Marc Marquez, Ducati Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images

Even in junior categories, Marquez achieved just one victory in Barcelona: ​​in 2010, when he won the 125cc race.

Last year, riding the old Ducati GP23 for the privateer Gresini team, Marquez finished third at the Catalan Grand Prix in May before taking second-place when MotoGP made a second visit to Barcelona for the Solidarity GP.

This year, riding the factory Ducati GP25, Marquez is the favourite to win at every track on the calendar. He proved that last month, when he scored his first victory in Austria after multiple near-misses during his stint at Honda.

"Barcelona is one of those weekends that, in any other year, I would have marked in red, saying 'we're going to suffer,' but this year I'm going in with an open mind to see how far we can go,” said Marquez.

Marquez has the opportunity to become just the third rider to win more than two races in the premier class at Barcelona this weekend, as well as the fourth to win there with two different manufacturers.

He currently leads the championship on 455 points, having won 10 grands prix, including the last seven in a row. He has also won 13 sprints out of a possible 14 and has been on pole eight times this season. With these kinds of numbers, it’s impossible to rule out another victory for Marquez on Sunday.

“It could be a weekend like the one in the Netherlands, for example, where I managed to win but without being the fastest," he said. "We'll see how we can do in Barcelona, ​​but the podium would be a great result."

Marquez currently has a 175-point lead over his nearest rival and brother, Alex Marquez. If he scores 10 or more points over the Gresini rider during the Barcelona weekend, the older Marquez will leave his 'cursed' circuit with the possibility of sealing the title the following week in Misano, with six grand prix weekends still remaining.