Marc Marquez: MotoGP great says 'some people around me say it is time to stop'

1 year ago 18

British MotoGP: Marc Marquez connected 'nightmare' injury-stricken 3 years

Marc Marquez is 1 of the greats of motorsport. An eight-time satellite champion, helium is simply a calved winner.

But arsenic helium reflects connected a "nightmare" 3 years - during which helium had doubts whether helium would ever vie again and experienced the "hardest moment" of his vocation - the Spaniard is searingly honest.

"The world close present is we are not acceptable to win," helium tells BBC Sport. "For me, for the bike, for galore reasons."

It is astir unthinkable for a rider who 4 years agone won his sixth MotoGP title.

But breached bones and aggregate operations aft a bid of crashes person tested Marquez much than ever before.

He has missed 5 of the 8 races to person taken spot truthful acold this season, and has not completed a afloat contention since the Malaysian Grand Prix successful October 2022.

As helium returns aft the summertime interruption and prepares to vie astatine this weekend's British Grand Prix, the 30-year-old is looking to rebuild his confidence.

"The summertime interruption arrived astatine the champion infinitesimal for me," helium says. "I got a batch of injuries during the archetypal portion of the season; I was rather bare successful the past races.

"A batch of crashes - the rib was broken, the digit was broken, the ankle was broken. I took that clip to rebuild my assemblage and besides to rebuild my energy."

History shaper to record-breaker

Marquez has achieved truthful much.

He remains the youngest Moto GP contention winner, the lone rider to instrumentality the rubric successful his rookie twelvemonth and the youngest champion of each clip - achieving each of those feats astatine the property of 20. The pursuing twelvemonth helium acceptable a grounds for contention wins successful a play by taking the chequered emblem archetypal 14 times successful 18 attempts.

He past dominated MotoGP from 2016-2019 - winning the bid 4 years successful a enactment by beating riders of the calibre of Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo, who person secured a combined 14 satellite titles.

Marquez has had 92 rod positions, won 85 races and had 139 podium finishes successful MotoGP alone.

But successful 2020, a "sweet" vocation turned sour.

The 'nightmare'

At the opening contention of the 2020 play successful Spain, Marquez broke his arm successful a clang that ended his season.

In 2021, helium did astatine slightest vie for overmuch of the play - winning 3 times - but ended the twelvemonth with concussion and missed the last 2 races aft a motocross crash.

Double imaginativeness continued to impact him into the pursuing season, which was further interrupted by him needing different cognition - the 4th - connected the limb helium broke successful 2020.

"All my vocation has been precise saccharine and everything casual - a batch of wins and 8 World Championships, and past it was the commencement of my nightmare," helium says.

"It was 3 years suffering a lot. I wouldn't prevarication to you if I accidental it was the clip to accidental 'maybe it is clip to halt my career', but this is not the benignant of determination that you tin instrumentality from 1 time to different one.

"Some radical astir maine accidental it is clip to stop, but astir different radical accidental to effort to proceed and that is what I americium doing. The passionateness is there, the information is there, and I request to find a mode to bask it connected the contention way - that is astir important."

'The hardest infinitesimal of my career'

This twelvemonth was meant to beryllium a caller commencement for Marquez.

It started good capable arsenic helium took rod for the opening circular successful Portugal, but helium fractured his manus successful a clang and was forced to beryllium retired the adjacent 3 races.

Returning astatine Le Mans, helium deed the tarmac again portion warring for a podium place, past crashed again astatine the adjacent contention successful Italy.

The atrocious quality conscionable kept coming.

A spill during warm-up astatine the pursuing contention successful Germany caused a hand, rib and ankle fracture, which ruled him retired of the past contention earlier the summertime interruption successful the Netherlands.

That, helium says, was the "hardest moment" of his vocation to date.

And the harm was not lone physical.

"I consciousness acceptable to combat for the victories, but for immoderate crushed I americium not capable to bash it," helium says.

"And past a batch of crashes and different injuries... it is hard for the intelligence side.

"The idiosyncratic beingness is the champion infinitesimal successful my beingness truthful this compensates a bit, and the radical astir maine effort to help."

'Right now, we are not acceptable to win'

Marquez has ridden for Honda since 2013 - from the commencement of his vocation successful the MotoGP class.

He is contracted until the extremity of 2024, but these are challenging times for rider and squad arsenic they acquisition issues with his RC213V bike.

It is 4 years since Marquez's past rubric success, and helium has lone completed 32 laps this season.

"Today we can't deliberation astir the Championship," helium says.

"In Le Mans I was accelerated - warring for 2nd - and I crashed. In Mugello, I was successful the apical 5 but again crashed. We are taking excessively overmuch risk; we are not acceptable to beryllium there.

"The velocity is determination and I tin bash it, but we request to find a mode to beryllium accelerated but a spot easier."

'The tone is inactive there'

Marquez's aged foe Rossi retired successful 2021, but fans remained fascinated by the rivalry, and statement inactive rages astir which of the riders was the best.

Marquez is lone 1 satellite rubric down the Italian, and matching his tally remains a goal.

"Every azygous year, erstwhile I commencement the play it is to combat for the championship," says Marquez. "Doesn't substance if it's for the ninth World Championship oregon the archetypal World Championship, I volition combat successful the aforesaid way.

"MotoGP is changeless evolution. You request to ever beryllium determination and effort to amended arsenic different manufacturers and different riders are improving, truthful that is what I americium looking for successful this 2nd portion of the season.

"It is clip to uncover that assurance and I anticipation adjacent twelvemonth to deliberation again astir the championship.

"The tone is there."

Listen connected Sounds banner