After winning his eighth World Championship, Marc Márquez reviews a 2019 season which saw him take the MotoGP crown for the fourth consecutive year.
Marc Marquez won his sixth premier class title after a thrilling win at the last corner of the Thai GP on Sunday and fresh from his return to Europe, Márquez sat down to discuss the 2019 season at the Campus Repsol in Madrid, Spain.
Here’s what he had to say:
How do you feel coming home with a new world championship?
“I arrived in Spain last night and I’m very happy to be, not yet in my own house, but in my sporting home, because I’ve been with Repsol for many years. They’ve accompanied me throughout my career and I value them a lot. It’s been an almost perfect year, but it can always be improved. A dream year where we took the title – which was the main objective – but we’re very proud of the way we achieved it. And I speak in the plural, because I’m here, but all my team, all the people around me, who help me every day are missing.”
How was the title celebration?
“The party went well and I’m still getting my voice back! We celebrated the title as it deserves to be celebrated, because it’s a world championship and you never know when this dream is going to end, so you have to celebrate it to the fullest. We spent the night in Bangkok and had a good time with the whole team. I will not reveal the details, but there was dancing, shouting, partying – a little bit of everything.”
How was this season after the shoulder injury?
“It’s clear that in the life of an athlete there are hard times and good times, like this one. Complicated situations are what make you strong and this winter was one of the toughest in my career because I couldn’t do what I like most in the world – ride my motorcycle. I couldn’t train, because I needed the operation, but I overcame it with the help of all the people who pushed me. I arrived at the first race, maybe not 100 percent, but in the best way I could be. You always think that all that work has to have a reward. Once you start and you see the results coming, it gives you even more strength.”
You said it’s been an almost perfect year. Why ‘almost’?
“Because when you have an excess of confidence that’s when mistakes can happen. It happened in the race we least expected, which was Austin, where I fell when I was leading with a four-second advantage. It was a seemingly done victory and, because of how relaxed I was, I fell. That’s why you always have to be completely focused, you can’t get confused and you have to learn from mistakes. It’s been a very good year, but that doesn’t mean that we can stop working.”
You made your mother suffer a lot by risking the last corner. How did she react?
“Yes! I’d already made her quite angry on Friday, because we started the weekend with a big scare. You take the hit, but the people around you suffer much more. Both my mother, my father; the whole family suffers. They’ve been behind me for many years, they’re the base and, when a four-year-old asks for a motorcycle and the father or mother does not give it to him, it’s impossible to get here. But logically they’ve been suffering for many years.”
Giacomo Agostini has said he believes you can beat his 15 titles. How do you feel about it?
“I get along very well with him and I’ve heard these statements. I don’t like the word ‘impossible’, I’ll never say it, but it’s ‘almost impossible’. It means winning double what I’ve achieved so far. I’ve never been obsessed with a number or a name – I just enjoy my passion for racing. I feel very lucky that it’s my job, where I try to do my best.”
You always say that you get where you are thanks to your rivals. How much do you need Fabio Quartararo and a strong Jorge Lorenzo next season?
“The closer, the better! We’re in an era in MotoGP™ in which the mechanical equality, although the final numbers of the championship do not reflect it, is one of the best it’s been. I say this because there are four factories capable of winning races and fighting for a world championship. This means that there are at least eight bikes with chances of winning races, and it’s something that didn’t happen before. You have to know how to reinvent yourself, learn from veterans like Valentino [Rossi], Jorge [Lorenzo] or Dovi [Andrea Divizioso] and also from young riders, like Fabio [Quartararo] or [Maverick] Viñales.”
What can be improved upon from this year?
“It’s been a very good year and it’ll be difficult to improve. But one of my idols is Rafa Nadal and when you see him in a match and wonder what he can do better, he always takes a new step forward. Or when [Lionel] Messi scores a goal, you think again that he can’t do better and then he goes and scores another which is better. I try to model myself on them; they’re always improving. I’ll try to learn from my mistakes. Rivals show you your level and that’s where we will try to continue growing.”
