Marquez: 2015 MotoGP title miss taught me consistency

Marc Marquez has achieved a feat only four other riders in history have accomplished by winning four consecutive premier class world titles after sealing the 2019 MotoGP crown with a dramatic victory in Thailand – something he feels was only possible after losing out in 2015.

The Repsol Honda rider now has six MotoGP riders’ world championships in his seven seasons in the top category, putting him in outright third place on the all-time list ahead of Mick Doohan’s five, and only one behind Valentino Rossi and two behind leader Giacomo Agostini.

The 26-year-old secured his 2019 crown with a last-lap duel against Fabio Quartararo to take victory at the Thailand MotoGP even though he only needed to outscore Andrea Dovizioso by two points in the race to confirm his world champion status with four races to spare.

Marquez’s win maintains his unrelenting consistency this season having won nine times along with five runner-up finishes and his only blot being his crash while leading the Americas MotoGP round.

Having seen too many crashes undo his 2015 title aspirations, the only year he’s missed out in the top class, Marquez says that season taught him to improve on his weaknesses which has led to his current domination.

“Sometimes you need to do one step behind and two in front. Sometimes we are very young, and I still feel young, but in 2015 I was 22 or 23 and I was very young, I didn’t have experience and I learnt a lot that year as I crashed many times in the races and then I said okay where is my weak point,” Marquez said.

“My weak point was my consistency. Every year I try to work but it is difficult because sometimes it is so hard to change from one year to the other one but especially this year my strongest point was my consistency. This means a lot about how we worked with all the team.”

Reflecting on his sixth MotoGP world title, an eighth crown overall to take outright fourth place on the all-time list for most titles behind Agostini (15), Angel Nieto (13), Rossi, Mike Hailwood and Carlo Ubbiali (all on nine), Marquez credits his own consistency for securing his title triumph.

Aside from his DNF at the Circuit of the Americas, every race Marquez has finished in the top two places while he has seen the relative inconsistency from his rivals let down their own championship hopes.

Despite his feats, Marquez credits Quartararo as the unknown package this season but is certain that won’t be the case in 2020.

“About the season honestly speaking I expected everything, but I didn’t expect this guy Fabio at that level,” he said. “He is at a very good level and about the [Thailand] race I expected a very consistent Dovi and a very fast Vinales at some races and maybe Suzuki but Fabio was the outsider. The guy that nobody expected at the beginning of the season.

“Then step-by-step he was faster and faster but apart from that the most important thing for us was that in some races Ducati, some races Suzuki and some races Yamaha but we were always there. That is the most important thing.”

While Marquez matches Hailwood, Agostini, Doohan and Rossi who haved all recorded four straight premier class world titles, the Spanish rider still has some way top that feat with Rossi (2001-2005) and Doohan (1994-1998) taking five in a row while Agostini leads with a stunning seven in a row between 1966-1972.