MARQUEZ PRAISES QUILES’ DISTINCTIVE ROUTE TO THE MOTO3 TITLE

Maximo Quiles heads to Motegi with a chance to clinch the Moto3 title, though his mentor Marc Marquez says the championship could be decided later. The 18-year-old Spaniard has won nine races in his second season with Aspar and has finished on the podium in all but two rounds. He leads Alvaro Carpe by 131 points and David Almansa and Brian Uriarte by 132, with six rounds remaining after Japan.

To secure the crown at Motegi, Quiles would need to win and see all three rivals finish outside the top 10. Marquez described that combination as “very unlikely,” given the points involved. He said the bigger priority was seeing Quiles build both his championship campaign and his sporting career.

Marquez, who won the 125cc title in 2010 with 10 victories and 12 podiums, is especially impressed by the way Quiles is approaching his own title bid. “What I particularly like is that he’s winning this World Championship in a different way,” he told MARCA. Quiles showed at Misano and in Austria that, despite his substantial advantage, he is still a “killer,” Marquez added.

The Ducati rider believes Quiles already has the ability to succeed and has “a great future ahead of him.” Quiles’ next step is confirmed: he will move to Moto2 with Aspar in 2027. A move to MotoGP could follow as early as 2028, putting him on a potential path to join Marquez, whose current contract runs through that season.