Marc Márquez or when the best way to silence the shouts is with victories... in red

"Shut up! He's wearing red," was the cry of Davide Tardozzi, Ducati's sporting director, in response to the hisses from some of the Italian fans at Marc Márquez after his sprint victory on Saturday. Tardozzi wanted to make it clear to those fans that Marc is wearing Ducati red and that you shouldn't boo anyone riding a Ducati in Italy. In reality, you shouldn't boo anyone when the winner's anthem is playing , regardless of their color, but the Italian manager's reaction was understandable.

On Sunday, there were still some shouts and boos when Marc Márquez won again, but something did seem to have changed in the attitude of many fans, who distanced themselves, somewhat, from Valentino Rossi's die-hards. They shared the sentiment expressed by Tardozzi on Saturday afternoon: "I think unsportsmanlike behavior is not justified if you relate it to events from ten years ago. It's time to turn the page and look forward, especially for Marc and Valentino, and to send positive messages," argued the Ducati rider.

And Tardozzi is right. What's the point of continuing to harbor the same grudge when, viewed dispassionately, neither driver was completely innocent in that battle? The clash was probably so severe because Valentino Rossi and Marc Márquez were much more similar in their sporting sense than their supporters believe . The problem is that the losing side of a war often has a wound that is very difficult to heal.

Because the reality is that the loser in that whole ugly episode was Valentino Rossi . He lost his last chance to be world champion. And the topic is very topical because Marc Márquez is dangerously close this season to equaling his record of nine world titles (six of them in MotoGP) . And what's even worse: doing it on a Ducati, the bike Rossi never managed to triumph on. It's too much to swallow for the fervent followers of VR46.

Unsportsmanlike whistling

"If you don't like Marc, just don't applaud," Tardozzi argued in his statement, "but in my opinion, whistling is absolutely unsportsmanlike. I don't want to go back to the episode of ten years ago, whose fault it was; for me it's fifty-fifty." Of course, the most die-hard Rossi fans will never share that distribution of blame, but many Italians will. As much as they admired Valentino, you can't put them in the position of choosing between dad or mom. A Ducati victory in Italy is just as important, if not more, to them.

And there's another detail, perhaps even more important: Pecco Bagnaia is behaving like the great champion he is. As Valentino's pupil, he could share all the resentment of his former mentor, but he doesn't. Nor is he playing the victim within Ducati, when not only is his teammate beating him, but so is Álex Márquez on the satellite Ducati. And it would be easy for him to poison his rhetoric by suggesting favoritism toward Marc Márquez. A gentleman.

Bagnaia also showed in the opening stages of the race that he, too, has grit . The Italian challenged Marc Márquez in the opening third of the race like no one had done before. Then, his tires paid the price for his overexertion and, in the final laps, he even lost the third step of the podium to Di Giannantonio . But the proof was in. He showed that he knows how to play the same game as Márquez and that he is by no means the soft rider his detractors suggest.

Bagnaia's sporting and personal honesty was rewarded by the fans at Mugello, but also those at Jerez and Motorland. Bagnaia is loved and respected in Spain, and Ducati and many Italians know this . When we get to Misano, the boos for Márquez will return. Even more so because the Adriatic circuit is literally Valentino Rossi's home, as he was born just a few kilometers from the track. But this victory for Márquez at Mugello could mark a turning point.

No provocations

Márquez has long since shied away from Rossi's provocations, and without losing the aggressiveness that has always characterized him, his actions bordering on unsportsmanlike behavior are increasingly a thing of the past. Because the breeding ground for anti-Márquez in Italy doesn't only stem from his beef with Valentino Rossi. When Marc pushed Jorge Lorenzo off the track at the start in Aragón or slammed his bike into Dovizioso at the Red Bull Ring on the final corner , he gave his detractors a piece of his mind. But, as Tardozzi says, the past can't be changed, and we must look forward.

Mugello also offered a small measure of vindication for Álex Márquez. The mantra that he was racing to favor his brother has been refuted: he also knows how to get his wheel in front of him. The start of the race at Mugello was truly spectacular, with a three-way battle between the two Márquezes and Pecco Bagnaia. Marc knew there was still a lot of race left and didn't dwell on the battle, knowing he should save his soft tires for the end.

Jorge Lorenzo had a very interesting technical comment in a conversation with Marc at the end of the race, about the importance of looking after the tyres on the Ducatis: "It's true," stated Márquez, "I've been riding the same way for 10 years and now I've had to change my style. But the DNA of the Ducati is to ride it with the rear, to be super smooth, not to force the front too much, and my strength is at the end of the race." An important message that debunks all those conspiracy theories that the Ducati is tailor-made for the Catalan rider.

Márquez emerges from Mugello much strengthened, both in terms of points in the standings and morale. He is perhaps in the best form of his sporting career. He maintains his usual speed, but with much greater maturity: "We could have celebrated the '93 victory more, but it's better not to provoke. It seems like I'm talking as if I were 60, but at 32, I'm back in the World Championship." It's hard to give a clearer illustration of where Márquez's current focus lies.