Marc Marquez reveals psychological renaissance of 2024 MotoGP season
“One year ago, I had a lot of question marks in my mind, I had many doubts…”
Marc Marquez was close to calling it quits on motorcycle racing in 2023, but a switch to more competitive machinery revived his desire to continue competing.
After winning six MotoGP titles in seven seasons, Marquez encountered persistent injury problems between 2020–2022, and in the periods where he could race he found the Honda RC213V he’d piloted since 2013 to be in continual decline compared to its rivals.
A switch to the satellite Gresini team in 2024, and to year-old Ducati machinery, saw Marquez return to competitiveness, podium contention, and ultimately the top step of the podium.
“For me, the move I did last year has already been a success, because, if not, this year I would announce my retirement,” Marquez affirmed when speaking to MotoGP.com.
“One year ago, I had a lot of question marks in my mind, I had many doubts. Then, after one year, all these doubts disappear and I come back in a competitive level.
“We will not say the level of 2019, we will say in a competitive level that is enough to continue pushing, to continue working, and especially to have that special spirit of MotoGP.
“We taste again that victory, that podium, that special intensity that, when you’re fighting on the top, is different.”
Marquez explained that the time he spent without winning — having won so much since he entered the premier class in 2013, and even further back to 2010 when he started winning in the 125cc class — meant that he was able to change his perspective on success in MotoGP.
“When you are a long time without that [winning] feeling, then you start to forget,” he said.
“But, when you feel it again, after the victory in Aragon and Misano, you want more. It’s like a drug, you want more, and more, and more.
“I enjoyed [twice as much], because in the past victories were normal, and now we understand that victories are not the normal thing.
“Victories give to you a lot of confidence. It’s something that, after three or four years struggling a lot, four surgeries in the arm, and after not getting good results, you start to lose confidence, you start to have question marks: ‘Is it the bike, is it me, is it my physical condition?’
“Step-by-step you need to answer those questions, and rebuild that confidence with some podiums, good races, pole positions, Sprint victories, and then main race victories was super-important.”
Alex joined the Crash.net team in August of 2024 having covered consumer and racing motorcycle news at Visordown for two years.
