Marc Marquez's rivals called out: 'He was much better last year'

The record nine-time world champion has gone from 102 points off the championship lead to just 18 heading into the summer break, and it would be folly to bet against him surpassing rival Valentino Rossi's joint premier class record this season with his eighth crown in MotoGP.

Yet even Marquez himself admits his rivals deserve as much blame for his resurgence as he deserves credit.

Speaking after another win at the German Grand Prix, he said:

Most culpable for Marquez’s comeback has been Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi. The Italian was a firm title favourite with three wins to open the campaign and another at his home Italian Grand Prix on May 31.

Yet since then it’s all been downhill. Taken out by teammate Jorge Martin in Hungary, ‘Bez’ followed up with an exclusion from the Czech Grand Prix for a shocking attack on a track marshal.

His composure has now completely disappeared, resulting in a collarbone-breaking crash at the Dutch Grand Prix, which took him out of the race and also the Sachsenring, dropping him to fourth in the championship.

Further hammering home the message to Marquez’s rivals, Ducati manager Davide Tardozzi pointed out a painful truth to the rest of the grid:

One person who clearly gets the message is current championship leader Jorge Martin, who was fifth in the German Grand Prix and sixth in the sprint:

Right now, the momentum is fully with Marquez, and none of the runners are putting up much of a fight.

Someone who has beaten him on equal footing, Jorge Lorenzo, is clear that Marquez is now in the ascendancy, and gave one final warning over why his rivals have the Jaw’s theme tune playing in their ears.