‘2020 MotoGP season would be just as open with Marc Marquez racing’

Andrea Dovizioso has dismissed the notion the 2020 MotoGP World Championship is suffering without the presence of its dominant champion Marc Marquez, speculating he may have struggled just as much to be consistent.

The Spaniard’s absence following an injury in round one will see a new MotoGP World Champion crowned in 2020, but no favourite has emerged from the opening five rounds with four different winners thus far, including three first-time victors.

With top tips Fabio Quartararo and Dovizioso enduring fluctuating fortunes this year so far, Marquez himself has questioned which rider will have the consistency to mount a convincing title challenge.

However, Ducati rider Dovizioso believes the changes to the tyre regulations are the primary reason for the unpredictable form sheet at the moment, which he thinks would have hampered Marquez on the Repsol Honda as much as his rivals.

“I don’t think Marquez’s absence changes anyone’s strategy,” he told GPOne.com. “Everyone is having negative results because of the tyres this season, nobody is really consistent. 

“Marc in Jerez showed his overwhelming power and so everyone thought that if he had been on track he would have done what he wanted, but in my opinion this is not so obvious. This tyre is special and maybe even Marc would have struggled to make the podium in certain circumstances.”

Would Marc Marquez have struggled for consistency?

Sheer consistency has been the bedrock of Marquez’s title challenges in recent years to complement his exceptional pace too - as a combination it’s very difficult to penetrate. 

As such, it’s quite hard to believe Marquez would be mirroring the Quartararo and Dovizioso scorecard of victory one week, outside the top ten the next.

That said, Dovizioso doesn’t mince his words or play mind games, so his opinion holds greater weight than nearly every other person in the MotoGP paddock.

After all, Marquez was racing with red mist when he crashed in race one - but ultimately overstepped the limit - while it is easy to forget he came into the season without a terribly good feeling on a RC213V that has been startlingly uncompetitive in Cal Crutchlow and Alex Marquez’s hands thus far.

As we say, Marquez scoring a win and then coming across the line in 12th a few days later seems unfathomable, but Dovizioso may be right in suggesting it wouldn’t have been the ruthless rout of 2019.