Fonsi Nieto Said It: “This World Championship Will Be Decided on Saturday”

Fonsi Nieto left his role as Pramac sporting director at the end of last MotoGP season. He is currently a Pramac ambassador and a Ducati two-seater bike rider, offering track rides to VIPs. The Spaniard knows both Marc Marquez and Jorge Martin very well, and together with the latter he also won a premier-class world title. Here is his take at a pivotal stage of the championship.

As we write, Marc Marquez has won the Sprint at Phillip Island, while ‘Martinator’ crashed before the finish and was nearly out of the title race due to injury. Speaking to ‘AS’, Fonsi Nieto looked back at what happened in 2024, when Jorge Martin won the world title aboard the Ducati of Pramac, then a satellite team. "I’ve watched him develop, especially in the garage, in the way he explains what’s happening with the bike from start to finish. He still has the explosiveness and talent he had before, but with greater refinement".

At the time of his interview with the Spanish newspaper, Fonsi Nieto did not yet know about ‘Martinator’s’ recent injury. He explained how Martin had managed to lead the standings despite taking just one win this MotoGP season: "Consistency is rewarded... There are so many races, and you can’t afford to get injured". Those words did not bring his former rider much luck.

The nephew of the legendary Angel Nieto has never hidden his admiration for Marc Marquez. "For me, he’s the greatest of all time in terms of what he does on track. I was there for seven or eight years, from beginning to end, and I saw him do things that defy the laws of physics. You’re in a corner and think he’s going to run wide, but he doesn’t. The next lap, you think he’s going to run wide, but it doesn’t happen". His prediction, however, may prove prescient... "It will depend on who makes the fewest mistakes. I think the championship will be decided more on Saturday than on Sunday".

Fonsi Nieto, a keen observer and seasoned MotoGP expert, sees one flaw in Marquez. "He has just one weak spot, just one: letting his ego get the better of him. That’s when he can make mistakes... When another rider gives him a taste of his own medicine, he gets angry. It happens when they make extreme overtakes, block his way and things like that. As they say, when someone gets under his skin. When you get under Marc’s skin, he gets angry, and that’s when he can lose his temper".

With Jorge Martin’s recent injury, the Cervera phenomenon seems to be closing in on the tenth world title of his career, surpassing Valentino Rossi’s nine titles. Marc has never openly stated that this is his goal, but it is surely something he has been thinking about for a long time... "I think Marc isn’t racing against any other rider right now, except Rossi. But who wouldn’t want to surpass Valentino Rossi after everything he has achieved?".

How does he imagine Valentino would feel about being surpassed by Marc? "He would definitely be angry—how could he not be? An athlete is an athlete until the day they die," Fonsi Nieto concluded. "Not just until they retire".

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