Marc Marquez is a six-time MotoGP world champion, but a target for every rider was not ‘the special thing’ for him until after the Spaniard broke his arm at Jerez in 2020.
The 31-year-old almost saw his career end on home tarmac at the 2020 Grand Prix of Spain. Marquez has revealed he considered retiring from MotoGP after breaking his right humerus at Jerez following a highside through Turn 3. It left him requiring three operations to return.
A fourth bout of surgery also followed for Marquez come 2022 when doctors broke his right arm again to return the bone to its original position after twisting by more than 30 degrees. It cost Marquez three years of his career and a fourth went by amidst Honda’s woes in 2023.
Marc Marquez now has the ‘correct’ view that winning MotoGP races is ‘special’
Only in 2024 after terminating an 11-year relationship with Honda and moving to Gresini to ride a year-old Ducati has Marquez returned to consistently fighting at the front of MotoGP. He even won for the first time in 1,043 days with a victory at the 2024 Grand Prix of Aragon.
Sealing further wins for Gresini on a Desmosedici GP23 at the Grand Prix of San Marino and the Rimini Riviera plus the Australian Grand Prix have also further shown why Ducati signed Marquez to ride for the factory team in 2025 over 2024 championship leader, Jorge Martin.
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It is a target of every motorcycle rider on the world championship stage to win Grand Prix in MotoGP. But before breaking his arm at Jerez in 2020, Marquez admits he did not find it that ‘special’. Now, however, he sees the pride in winning MotoGP races after years of problems.
“My perception was easy to understand,” Marquez told TNT Sports 2 (27/10, 07:19). “From 2010 until my accident, winning was the normal thing. It was not the special thing.
“To be second was to lose and my normal habit was winning. And after my accident, I start to understand another perception – I think it’s the correct one – winning is not the normal thing because it’s only one ridder who will win.”
Marc Marquez only knew dominance in MotoGP before breaking his arm at Jerez
Marquez missed the rest of the 2020 campaign after breaking his arm in the season-opener at the Grand Prix of Spain. He then returned to winning ways in 2021 by riding his Honda to the top of the podium for the Grand Prix of Germany, of the Americas and Emilia Romagna.
But further surgeries and the difficulties Honda have endured in recent terms amid the rise to dominance of Ducati saw Marquez go more than 1,000 days without winning and having to join Gresini to win again. Francesco Bagnaia won 23 of the 53 Grands Prix in that period.
Marquez only knew dominance before the injury, which thus saw his perception of winning MotoGP races change to what he now thinks is the ‘correct’ view. He won the 125cc title in 2010 with 10 wins in 17 races before winning 16 of his 32 Moto2 races and the title in 2012.
Life in MotoGP even proved to be a simple transition as Marquez won the premier class title as a rookie with Honda in 2013 with six wins from 18 rounds. Further titles even followed in 2014 with 13 wins, in 2016 with five, in 2017 with six, in 2018 with nine and in 2019 with 12.