The unique 'tyre trick' used by Marquez and Verstappen, according to MotoGP legend Stoner

The skills required to excel in MotoGP and Formula 1 might be very different in most respects, but there are certain crossovers and areas of comparison which make the two sports inseparable in other ways.

Speaking at an event in promotion for the new Ride 6 video game, Stoner gave his thoughts on what separates Marc Marquez from the rest, even referring to Marc as the 'final boss' of MotoGP.

"It's apparently what I think everyone competing against him (Marc) now lacks. Nobody seems to understand what he does in races to conserve tires and all that kind of thing."

"They only see a one-speed Marc, who plays a different card every week . But one very common theme I saw throughout (2025), and that nobody grasped enough, was how patient he was with the tires."

He then went on to draw comparisons to the similarly dominant Max Verstappen, who like Marquez has established himself as the greatest competitor of his era:

"It's a bit like Formula 1. The best drivers at the moment, particularly Max (Verstappen), when they put on new tires after a pit stop, do several laps before starting to accelerate, which gives them between 10 and 15 extra laps towards the end of the stint , with much more pace after taking care of the tires and bringing them along gradually, smoothly."

"I think Marc has figured out what needs to be done with these tires and is very patient with them."

Stoner, who won the first of his world titles with Ducati and became their first ever World Champion, never raced directly against Marquez since he retired unexpectedly at just 27 years of age in 2012.

Marquez, by contrast, joined the premier class in 2013 where he won the title in his rookie year. His title win last season with Ducati makes him their oldest and MotoGP's oldest world champion in the four-stroke era at 32 years of age.