Marc Marquez has revealed that he was considering retirement after a few struggle-ridden years in MotoGP.
He doubted his abilities and confirmed to cameras that he would have retired at the end of 2024 if he had failed to find some performance with Ducati.
As it is, he got back to winning ways with three victories this season and steps up to partner Francesco Bagnaia in 2025.
It’s an incredible opportunity for him, and there’s a chance that the six-time MotoGP champion still has plenty of life left in him at the age of 31.
Marc Marquez was starting to ‘forget’ the winning feeling
After a string of incidents, injuries and a lack of success since claiming his sixth title in 2019, it’s easy to see why Marquez may have been starting to feel that he was past it.
Between the end of 2022 and the start of 2023, he endured a run of five consecutive retirements and failed to finish higher than 13th in the championship in either season.
Speaking to the MotoGP YouTube channel, he discussed how the idea of winning and the emotions that come with it were slowly fading.
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“When you are a long time without that feeling, then you start to forget. But when you feel again after victory in Aragon and Misano, you want more. It’s like a drug.
“You want more and more and more and more. I enjoyed that because victories in the past were like, normal. Now we understand that the victories are not a normal thing.”
How Marquez can achieve further success in MotoGP
As mentioned earlier, Marquez is still relatively young for a sportsperson, although his body has been through a lot.
Riding the dominant Ducati bike will be a boost to his chances and confidence, with it being almost guaranteed that he will be able to compete for victories.
Jorge Martin’s decision to leave his current Ducati Lenovo team and switch to Aprilia Racing could see the reigning champion drop out of the title race.
But that would be ruling out his consistency and incredible talent which was on display this year, as he was one of just two men to finish ahead of Marquez in the standings.
The door is open for a 2025 championship push, but Marquez has to deliver to the level he has done over the last 12 months and more if he wants a sniff at a seventh crown.