Neil Hodgson: Marc Marquez stands out — rare behaviour in the Ducati pit

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Neil Hodgson was taken aback to hear Marc Marquez take responsibility for his struggles at the United States Grand Prix, rather than blaming his Ducati bike.

Marquez, who has started from pole eight times in Austin, could only manage sixth on the grid this year. After serving a long-lap penalty for taking out Fabio Di Giannantonio in the Sprint, he fought his way to fifth place in the Grand Prix.

Ducati shares behind-the-scenes footage from every race on their YouTube channel through their ‘Inside’ series. In a clip from the post-Austin episode, Marquez admitted he was having a tough time.

Photo by Gold & Goose Photography/Getty Images

Hodgson: ‘So many’ riders would blame the team, but not Marc Marquez

Speaking on the Gas It Out podcast, Hodgson pointed out that Marquez still isn’t ‘100% fit,’ which might be part of the reason he’s holding back from any public criticism of his team.

Marquez is also only second among Ducati riders in the standings, five points behind Di Giannantonio, while last year’s runner-up Alex Marquez is back in eighth. Francesco Bagnaia sits one spot behind him.

This hasn’t gone unnoticed by Hodgson, who found Marquez’s self-critical approach during a Ducati debrief particularly telling.

“I don’t know if you guys watch the Ducati YouTube channel,” Hodgson said. “Do you know what I found really interesting? Obviously, it’s been edited by Ducati, so they would put this in, but it was a real standout for me, because it’s rare you hear this.

“You’re Marc Marquez,” Hodgson continued. “You come in and you’re having your debrief. All he did was blame himself every time. He said: ‘It’s not the bike’.”