It has been 14 years since Marc Marquez arrived in MotoGP and began rewriting the record books.
What the Ducati star can do on track has been analysed endlessly. From his spectacular saves and his famous block passes, to his impressive racecraft, Marquez has become an important part of MotoGP’s folklore.
Injuries have made him more determined than ever before to come back, and his 2025 title triumph was further proof of his tenacity. With experience, Marquez has also become less prone to errors and crashes, leaving his physical condition as the only weak point in his armoury.
The fact that Marquez is still in the championship hunt despite not being fully fit – and missing two races – says a lot about his level in MotoGP. But Marquez’s biggest strengths aren’t confined to the track. Few people are better placed to explain what makes him special behind the scenes than his crew chief Marco Rigamonti.
The Italian joined forces with Marquez when he moved to the factory Ducati Team in 2025. While they may have only worked together for less than two years, the two quickly built a rapport, and Marquez now counts Rigamonti among his core group.
Rigamonti has worked with several race winners during his time in MotoGP, but he feels the one area where Marquez excels is his technical feedback. In a series where the margins are so thin, Marquez’s precise input makes it easier for Ducati to fix weak points and focus on key strengths.
“He knows very well what happened on the bike. He understands very well,” Rigamonti told Autosport. “He’s able to check the data and [mark] the point where he’s thinking about: ‘I have this problem at that point.’
Marc Marquez, Ducati Team, Marco Rigamonti
Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images
“So, for us it’s more simple to understand and to try to find a solution. But he always says, ‘I felt this, but maybe I felt something wrong’. So, he helps us to understand what happened on the bike.
“And if we ask him something more, he’s more precise compared to other riders to help us to analyse and maybe to fix the problem.”
Rigamonti said Marquez is exceptionally good at pinpointing where he is gaining or losing time, helping Ducati in its fight against Aprilia in 2026.
“Basically, he’s able to analyse where he loses compared to the others,” Rigamonti said. “Then if he loses because it’s him or his bike, it’s our job. But he’s precise in analysing where we are strong and where we are losing. So, this helps us a lot to try to improve the bike.”
Rigamonti also feels Marquez never leaves anything on the table, extracting the maximum out of the bike every time he leaves the pitlane.
“[With] a rider, what is very good and we like a lot is when he puts on the helmet, you know that he does 100%. Always, in every situation,” he added.
“This is the best for us because if the result doesn’t come, you can never say, ‘maybe the rider could do something more’. In his case, no. He always keeps 100% of the potential of the bike.”
Always truthful
Marc Marquez, Ducati Team
Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / Getty Images
Over the last 18 months, Rigamonti saw Marquez dominate the championship, suffer from self-doubts due to another shoulder injury and gradually get back on his feet again after surgery. Throughout that period, he says Marquez never tried to hide what was really happening.
“If the lack of performance in some corner was related to his physical condition, he was honest and said, ‘no, I’m not riding in a good way’. So, this is always clear,” he explained.
“Also, last year, when he was fit, if the problem on one corner was related to his riding style, he had no problem saying that. [This year], the only thing that we saw was his face. He was not happy. So, it means that he was thinking that there was something not good in his body. This is clear.
“In Mugello, we started to see on his face that he was quite happy because he understood that maybe he fixed the problem. The mentality, you can immediately see in his face, because he’s an honest guy. So, if he’s not happy, it’s easy to understand.”
This honesty also creates a more friendly atmosphere within the factory, something Rigamonti appreciates.
“And as a person, he’s honest. So, you know every time what he’s thinking, what he’s doing,” he said. “He likes a lot to enjoy with us because he knows that if everybody around him is happy, then the atmosphere is also good and this also helps for the performance.
“So, he’s a nice guy who likes to enjoy being with us a lot.”
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– The Autosport.com Team
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