Marc Marquez wants to assess his potential with Ducati at the Indonesian Grand Prix at the Mandalika Street Circuit which has blotted the six-time MotoGP world champion’s otherwise stellar record having failed to ever finish a race at the track.
The Spaniard can count himself as a past winner at 16 of the 19 venues that form the 2024 MotoGP calendar, but while he has stood on the podium at two of the remaining three in Portugal and Austria, he is yet to even reach the chequered flag in Indonesia.
Though it is a statistic conditioned by the fact MotoGP has visited the Lombok circuit on just two occasions, Marquez has thus far completed only seven racing laps on Indonesian soil.
Forced to sit out Indonesia’s inaugural MotoGP grand prix in 2022 following a huge accident during Sunday morning’s warm-up, Marquez went on to compound his Mandalika woes the following year by crashing out early in both the Sprint and full-length races too.
A firm favourite among local fans, Marquez is nevertheless well placed to make good on their support in 2024 as he bids to extend a rich vein of form that has seen him win two of the last three grands prix aboard the Gresini Ducati GP23.
Marc Marquez, Gresini Racing
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
“It will be interesting to understand where we are here,” Marquez said. “I haven’t finished a race here in Indonesia because in 2022 I had that massive crash in the warm-up, so it will be interesting to understand our level with the Ducati.
“It’s a track that I like. It’s not one of my favourites, but I like it even though in the past it has not been super good.
“I’m looking forward to it [though]. We’ll aim for the top four or five.”
Marquez, who will be promoted to the factory Ducati team alongside Pecco Bagnaia next season, arrives at Mandalika classified fourth in the overall standings.
Staring down a 60-point margin between himself and championship leader Jorge Martin, Marquez wouldn’t be drawn on whether he still considers himself to be a contender for this year’s title.
“For me, I have already achieved my targets for this season,” he replied upon being quizzed over whether he plans to change tactics for the final six rounds.
“Just enjoying [the final rounds] is the key.”
