Marc Marquez has admitted the Gresini rider asked himself, ‘Is it time to retire?’, after struggling to rediscover the six-time MotoGP champion’s success after his arm injury.
The end to one of the greatest motorcycle racing careers nearly came to an end after regular setbacks in his recovery. Marquez broke his right arm in the delayed 2020 MotoGP season-opener at the Grand Prix of Spain when he crashed heavily after a highside at Jerez’s Turn 3.
Tumbling through the gravel saw Marquez break his right humerus and even twist the bone by more than 30 degrees. He would initially have three operations to remedy the injury, but also a fourth in 2022 as Marquez got the bone rebroken and set back to its original position.
Marc Marquez admits questioning if he could ride a MotoGP after breaking his him
Marquez returned to winning ways following his initial return from the arm injury with three in 2021 for Honda. But it was not until the 2024 Grand Prix of Aragon and after moving over to Gresini that Marquez won again, having severed his ties with Honda after two hard years.
Struggling for form also played on Marquez’s mind after doctors told the 31-year-old that he had recovered from the arm injury he suffered at the 2020 Grand Prix of Spain. Having ruled the premier class since winning his first title as a rookie in 2013, Marquez faced a new norm.
READ MORE: Every MotoGP team’s confirmed rider line-up for the 2025 season
Marquez has now opened up on the mental strain the Spaniard faced through his injury hell, admitting that he even considered retiring from MotoGP. Such were his struggles aboard the Honda that the third-most successful 500cc/MotoGP rider by wins to date doubted his skills.
“When you finish your rehabilitation and you’re struggling and then you visit the doctor and they say your rehabilitation is done and still you don’t feel well, then you start to have some question marks in your mind,” Marquez told TNT Sports 2 (27/10, 07:16).
“Then your performance in your riding is not good enough, then you start to have some doubts to yourself that, ‘Ok, I don’t know how to ride a bike anymore. Is it time to retire? ’. This is the hardest moment.”
Joining Gresini proved Marc Marquez was right to fight his MotoGP retirement thoughts
Only Valentino Rossi and Giacomo Agostini sit above Marquez in the all-time 500cc/MotoGP winners’ list. Moving to the factory Ducati team in 2025 could well see the Spaniard surpass Agostini like Marquez did to Mick Doohan while with Honda having thrived aboard a Gresini.
Marquez’s results since riding a Ducati Desmosedici for the first time this term, let alone the GP23 bike, have proven his decision to fight through thoughts about retiring and continue in MotoGP was correct. Had he stayed at Honda, that might not have been the case, however.
While Marquez only needed four rounds to stand on a Grand Prix podium aboard a Ducati at Jerez – the track which nearly ended his MotoGP career – and 12 to win with a Desmosedici for Gresini, Joan Mir and Luca Marini have continued to struggle to score points with Honda.