'Reborn' Marquez redefines MotoGP dominance as seventh title beckons

As Marc Marquez rolled back the years with a sixth straight win with a commanding victory at the Austrian Grand Prix, a six-times champion fittingly winning the 1,000th premier class race in history, the question on everyone's lips is who can beat him?

Marquez had never won at the Red Bull Ring before, a track where he has been beaten to the chequered flag three times before by a gleaming red Ducati when he was collecting championships aboard the once-dominant Honda.

But history does not bother Marquez, who reached a nadir after four surgeries on a broken arm, double vision and several broken bones between 2020 and 2023, before earning another shot at championship glory with a belated move to Ducati.

"I always lost against red bikes... But now I'm riding that red bike," Marquez said on Thursday, a warning to the rest of the grid that he meant business on MotoGP's return from the summer break.

Despite starting on the second row after a qualifying crash, there was an air of inevitability and a cool determination, with Marquez not even locking eyes with his old rival Valentino Rossi when they walked past each other in the pit lane.

The feud has been simmering for years but even as Rossi sought to impart wisdom to his VR46 Academy protege and pole sitter Marco Bezzecchi, the Aprilia rider could not deny Marquez his first win at the Red Bull Ring.

For 19 laps, Bezzecchi had clear air in front of him but Marquez stayed on his rear wheel, eventually slicing under him on turn one and though the Italian fought back gamely, Marquez had found another gear on degrading tyres - as he always does.

'I AM REBORN'

With nine rounds to go and an eye-watering 142 points separating Marquez from his second-placed brother Alex, a seventh title already