Marquez on his personal life outside of MotoGP: “I thought very little about it”

Marquez is vying for a seventh MotoGP championship in 2023 to complete a remarkable comeback from arm surgery last summer which forced him to consider quitting the sport.

Now 29, he has told GQ about his staggering successes: "Everything I had in mind when I started has been fulfilled before I was 30. 

“What I didn't expect were injuries.

“I have thought very little about my personal life. My goals have always been professional. 

“Professionally, let whatever I can and what I earn come, and personally I would like to create a family, but that does not depend only on me either. 

“Today I'm here in Madrid and I don't know tomorrow or next year, I like to live in the present."

Marquez is now, at 29, among the elder statesmen of the 2023 MotoGP rider line-up.

Only Aleix Espargaro, Pol Espargaro and Johann Zarco are older.

'The podium or the ground'

Marquez's health has come under the microscope in recent times as the injuries and surgeries racked up.

Last summer he underwent a career-threatening fourth operation on his arm.

His trademark risk-taking style - the source of his popularity and his success - may have to be toned down if he is to ensure his health, some observers have claimed.

Marquez recounted a conversation with his doctor: "I will end up on the podium or I will end up on the ground."

• “Wild animal” Marquez told surgeon: “I’ll end up on the podium or on the ground”