MARC MARQUEZ WANTS QUILES TO FACE EARLY MOTO2 CHALLENGES

Marc Marquez believes Moto3 champion Maximo Quiles has the speed to make an impact in the higher classes, but says a difficult start to Moto2 could be valuable for the young Spaniard.

Quiles, 18, will move up to Moto2 with Aspar next season on a two-year contract. He has become one of the paddock’s most closely watched prospects: after winning three races and finishing third in the 2025 Moto3 standings, he took 10 victories in 2026 and secured the title with five rounds still to run, at the Indonesian Grand Prix.

The teenager regularly trains with Marc and Alex Marquez, who have acted as mentors. Asked in Indonesia whether he could eventually race against Quiles in MotoGP, Marc pointed to the rider’s existing Moto2 deal and described the step up as the natural progression. He expects Quiles to be quick, but hopes the transition initially tests him.

“I hope, and I wish, that next year he struggles a bit, at least in the first bit of the pre-season and first races,” Marquez said. “Not because I wish the worst for him, but because I want him to learn from that experience.”

Marquez added that Quiles’ talent has impressed him in training, regardless of the machinery. “Many times I trained with him and it doesn’t matter which bike he is riding, he’s very fast,” he said. “So, let’s see. He’s super talented. Now he flies to the moon some days, but feet on the ground and keep working.”

Quiles is widely viewed as a potential future MotoGP rider, and a rapid promotion is not unprecedented. Maverick Viñales spent only one season in Moto2 after winning the Moto3 crown before joining Suzuki in the premier class; Alex Rins and Raul Fernandez also made the move after a single Moto2 campaign.

A 2028 promotion is possible in theory, but few MotoGP seats are expected to be available that year, with many rider contracts running through the end of the season. That could instead make 2029 a more realistic target: if Quiles establishes himself in Moto2, manufacturers may compete to secure him early. A deal for a future premier-class move could even be agreed before he completes his intermediate-class spell, as happened with Jorge Lorenzo and Pecco Bagnaia.

For now, Marquez’s message is to let Quiles develop through the next step rather than rush the predictions. The champion’s confidence in his protege’s pace is clear; so is his belief that learning to handle early setbacks could be just as important.