“I gave up a lot of things that weighed on my heart to win”

Almost three years have passed since his last victory on the Misano circuit until the one he won this Sunday at MotorLand Aragon. 1,043 days during which Marc Marquez He suffered two episodes of diplopia (double vision) and underwent a fourth surgery on his right arm so he could live without pain and try to extend your sports career. When his health problems began to ease, he found himself with a bike that was not competitive.

This is why he had to give up his final year of multi-million dollar contract with Honda to try to become competitive again, we must abandon your technical team of his life, to his group of inseparable friends baptized the Dream Teamto be able to opt for a Ducati in the ranks of Gresini Racing.

With the Italian team he returned to podium since the start of this season, adding a total of 10 (six in the sprint race and four in Sunday’s race) but victory eluded him… until this Sunday.

“I couldn’t help but think about all the people who helped me during all this time. When you’re in such a big hole, every athlete in this world needs a human team that lives it like him. I’m very lucky and I feel privileged to have him. There were potholes and moments when we considered stopping or turning the situation around. When an athlete finds himself in such difficult times, injury after injury, he needs help. There are professionals and I respect them a lot, but I I have a healthy environment that experiences it like mewho shows me at all times the face of reality and He has the confidence to tell me the truth to my face.“We suffered it together, we celebrate it together and without them it would not have been possible,” he explained with a broken voice and on the verge of tears during his appearance before the media.

Marc Marquez already has a balance of 86 world championship victories, including 60 in MotoGPAmong which stand out those made in Austin 2013 – the first in MotoGP -, Germany 2021 – the first after a fracture of the humerus of the right arm – and the one made this Sunday. “I said to myself, ‘We’ll see if there’s any more or if I’m out of rice.'” [risas]. When I tested the bike in pre-season, when I saw that I was gaining confidence, I was calm because I knew that sooner or later I would have my chance. Now it is time to work on this perseverance, which is what makes you fight for titles,” he assured when he was 70 points behind Jorge Martin.

“This victory has a different value and weight because I gave up a lot. I gave up my team, the team of my life, my friends here, who I know will be happy. I did my best and I will continue to do so. Logically, we have to work more than before. We have to do more maintenance hours on the engine, but it is a sacrifice that I am willing to make. As I said, I gave up a lot of things that weighed heavily on my heart to try to continue enjoying my passion for as long as possible.” concluded Marc Márquez, ready to be the same as before.