Marc Márquez spoke to the media visibly excited after finishing the job this Sunday with a victory 1,043 days later. The magician from Cervera acknowledged that this triumph is “different” and “heavy” because “I gave up a lot” to achieve this victory. “I gave up the team of my life, my friends here, and I fought for it,” he explained. The driver himself explained that he thought “I had missed the rice or the soufflé had already exploded.”
On whether having to operate again in the United States and leaving Repsol Honda could be two of the most delicate moments of these three years: “That’s why I said that this victory is different and weighs, because I resigned a lot. I left the team of my life, my friends here and I fought. I know they will be happy. “I fought a lot and I will continue to do so,” said the Spanish rider after taking the 60th victory of his MotoGP career.
About the victory, Marc commented that “tonight, between the rain and the responsibility of this Sunday, I had trouble sleeping a little. I knew I had a great opportunity, I said it yesterday, I didn’t hide and we took advantage of it from start to finish. I knew how to handle the situation well. I had to concentrate a lot because my head was going to a thousand places. The truth is that I celebrated more podiums than this victory. The emotion was different and above all I couldn’t help but think of all the people who helped me during this period, because when you are in such a big hole, any athlete in this world competes alone, but you need a human team that I feel the same or more than you, and I am very lucky to have it.
Marc Márquez places this victory among the three most important of his sporting career in MotoGP: “There are 60, there are many to choose from, but for me those of Austin 2013, Germany 2021 and this one in 2024 are at the top, because of its importance, its value and above all the feeling that it leaves your body. “I weigh two kilos less at the moment, that also helps.”
“There were times when I thought about quitting”
Is it true that in those 1,043 days you never sank mentally? They asked him: “There were potholes and there were moments of everything, and I recognized that there were moments when we considered stopping or reversing the situation. When an athlete is in such low moments, he needs help first of all, there are professionals and I respect them a lot, but in the case of the athlete, he has a healthy environment that lives it like him, that shows him the face of reality at all times and they have the capacity or, above all, the confidence to tell you the truth to your face. “We suffered it together, we celebrate it together and without them it would not have been possible.”
As for whether he thought at any point that victory would not come, Márquez was clear: “Last year or about a year ago, I thought we’ll see if I’m out of rice, if I’m out of rice or if the soufflé has already exploded. This pre-season when I tested the bike, when little by little I saw that he was gaining confidence, I was calm. I wasn’t in a hurry, but I was sure that sooner or later we would have our chances. They had to take advantage of it. We had it in the first races, we didn’t know how to take advantage of it and now this one has arrived. “It’s time to work on that perseverance, that’s what drives you to fight for the title.”
As for how different or similar this victory is to Germany 2021, the six-time MotoGP champion noted: “Very similar because there are times when, logically, living with pain is not the most pleasant thing, but I was able to work, sacrifice myself.” to end up reaching an optimal level to continue competing at the highest level. Logically, we have to work harder than others or more than before, we have to do more maintenance hours on the engine, but it is a sacrifice that I am willing to make. “I gave up a lot of things that weighed heavily on my heart to try to spend as many years as possible enjoying my passion.”
Finally, he was asked if it could be repeated next week at Misano, but Marquez was cautious: “We will enjoy this victory. Obviously I would like to repeat this weekend at every Grand Prix, but between now and the end of the season I would like to work to find that consistency, that high performance to fight with those who are at the top. I think we are far from the title, they are two riders who show more consistency.
“As in Silverstone there was no talk of Bastianini as a new title contender, here we can’t talk about me as a title contender either. We are 70 points behind, in a weekend that, I am realistic, took place in particular conditions that favoured me, but I knew how to take advantage of it, so we will take advantage of it. One less question you ask me is when victory will come. That no longer exists, reset the counter and see if we are not forced to count as much,” he concluded.
