MARC MARQUEZ NAMED SPAIN’S TOP MALE ATHLETE FOR 2025

Marc Marquez has been named Spain’s best male athlete for 2025 by the country’s Higher Sports Council, recognising a remarkable return to the top of MotoGP.

Riding for the factory Ducati team, Marquez claimed his seventh premier-class championship and ninth Grand Prix world title overall. He sealed the crown at the Japanese Grand Prix, winning 11 grands prix and 14 sprint races during the season. The award is a second for the Spaniard, who also received it in 2014 after taking his second MotoGP title.

The latest honour follows years of injury and recovery. Marquez broke his right arm in a crash at the 2020 Spanish Grand Prix and missed the rest of that season. Four major operations followed between 2020 and 2022; the final procedure rotated the bone by more than 30 degrees to restore its original position. As he regained fitness, Honda’s competitiveness declined, prompting him to leave the factory team a year early and join Gresini Ducati in 2024. Three wins there helped earn him a factory Ducati seat for 2025.

His championship ended a six-year wait for another world title, dating back to his 2019 triumph. Marquez is now level with Valentino Rossi on premier-class titles, with only Giacomo Agostini ahead in the all-time standings.

The award announcement also comes amid another demanding campaign. After surgery on a long-standing shoulder injury, Marquez overturned a 102-point deficit and has won six grands prix in 2026 despite his physical difficulties. With five rounds remaining, he is two points behind Aprilia’s Jorge Martin, having briefly moved four points clear after the Indonesian Grand Prix sprint. Martin has one race victory this season.

Marquez has agreed to stay with Ducati for a further two years. Pedro Acosta is set to join him as his team-mate from 2027.