Former Ducati boss on Marquez-Acosta duo: "It's like when Yamaha put Lorenzo alongside Rossi."

The arrival of Pedro Acosta to Ducati seems inevitable and is one of the less surprising rumours to circulate the rider market in recent months, however no official announcement regarding the deal has yet been made.

The reason for the hold up is primarily due to the finalization of a financial agreement between MotoGP manufacturers and the governing body MotoGP Sports Entertainment Group.

Should the deal go through, it will present the MotoGP grid with one of the strongest rider lineups in recent memory, though rather than create heightened tension and competition, former Honda, Ducati and Suzuki team boss Livio Suppo believes it could give Marquez a rebirth of sorts:

"It’s like when Yamaha put Lorenzo alongside Valentino," He said in an interview with GP One, "Jorge prolonged [Rossi’s] career, he won two more world championships."

"It would be a stimulus for a strong rider like Marquez, who is clearly a super rider, just as Valentino was a super rider. [...] Having a young and super-fast rider alongside you rejuvenates you because it brings out that grit that, perhaps, you've lost a bit over the years.[...] I don’t see Marc getting angry about something like that, on the contrary.”

The duo already traded paint earlier in the season with a dramatic head-to-head showdown in the Thailand sprint race, which is the best either of them have performed at the start of 2026.

While there is a lot of speculation that Marquez may retire at the end of the season due to his injury accumulation, and the fact that he has stated the biggest challenge of his career is 'already over', Suppo certainly raises an interesting point and one which the track has already proven right.