Quartararo calls Marquez a legend as MotoGP riders pay tribute

Fabio Quartararo has labelled Marc Marquez a legend after he clinched his ninth world championship with a podium finish in the MotoGP Japanese Grand Prix.

Marquez finished second behind his factory Ducati team-mate Francesco Bagnaia at Motegi to wrap up the 2025 MotoGP title with five rounds to spare.

The triumph marked what many are calling one of the greatest comebacks in sporting history, following the severe arm injury he suffered at Jerez in 2020, which required four separate surgeries over the subsequent years.

Marquez now has seven titles in the premier class, including the six he won with Honda in the 2010s, putting him level with his long-time rival Valentino Rossi and only one shy of Giacomo Agostini’s tally.

Quartararo, who shared several memorable duels with Marquez in 2019 and the early 2020s, said the Spaniard’s latest triumph cements his place in the history books.

“More than an athlete, he's a legend now,” said the Yamaha rider. “Already he was [a legend].

“Looking at the video [shown by Dorna after the race] when he was celebrating, even I had emotions. Looking at what he had from 2020, with the injury, the bets that he had from changing teams, and what he achieved this year, especially with that domination, it was amazing. 

“I'm super happy for him, because he had some tough times, and he really deserves what he's doing now.”

Marc Marquez, Ducati Team

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

KTM’s young gun Pedro Acosta, the rider tipped to follow in the footsteps of Marquez, also credited his countryman for forging the path that brought him back to world championship glory.

“I really want to congratulate him and all his close circle,” he commented. “Like I said in Barcelona, it was the biggest comeback of a sportsman in the sports world.

“Even I was emotional with the video that they put to him. I imagine how much he was struggling with his injury at home. 

“I also read that he was losing like 30 races during his injury, until coming back at Ducati, for this. 

“Top job for him, top job for Ducati. He was really clever, stopping with Honda, going to Ducati, playing the game to go to factory Ducati for this. He should be proud of what he did, maybe even more than with the last eight titles before.”

Tech3 KTM rider Maverick Vinales described Marquez as a role model: "I think it's a tremendous achievement. 

“After many years [being] injured, to arrive, to build, last year at Gresini and this year winning the official bike and fighting head-to-head with [Francesco] Bagnaia and beating him. It's incredible, a reference and a role model.”

Alex Marquez, Gresini Racing, Marc Marquez, Ducati Team

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

Marquez’s crash at the Spanish GP five years ago, followed by a failed attempt to return just days after surgery, forced him to miss the rest of the 2020 season.

He also sat out multiple races in 2021, 2022, and 2023 due to ongoing surgeries and injury struggles, including complications with double vision.

The rider closest to him during this period was his own brother Alex Marquez, with whom he spent a lot of time together on and off the track.

Yet, the Gresini rider revealed that even Marquez’s inner circle didn’t fully know what he endured in the early 2020s, as he seriously considered retiring from MotoGP.

“He's the one on the bike, he's the one who's been through it all. Those of us around him don't know exactly what he's been through,” he said.

“All of us around him, my parents, Jose [Luis Martinez], me, we were partners in many things that he doesn't know about because those were difficult times.

“But he's the one who earned it, he worked hard for it, he was better than anyone else this year. 

Alex Marquez, Gresini Racing, Marc Marquez, Ducati Team

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

“I knew it when people doubted him, I knew he wasn't finished, he just needed the weapons to fight again. 

“After everything that had happened, getting to appreciate a new team, a small one like Gresini, was important for him. His plan worked out and was executed perfectly."

Marquez team-mate Bagnaia said “there aren't many words to describe Marc's season and his last six years,” before hailing him for the “admirable” mental strength he showed during his tough years.