Marquez: I won’t lose my track showmanship

Marc Marquez says regardless of how many world titles he accumulates across his career he wants to be remembered for putting on a show on track which he sees as both a strength and a weakness.

The newly-crowned eight-time world champion, with six championships coming in MotoGP’s premier class, is continuing to rewrite to history book after securing the 2019 MotoGP world crown with a dramatic final-lap battle for victory against Fabio Quartararo in Thailand.

With Marquez only needing to outscore Andrea Dovizioso by two points in Thailand to seal the title, and the Italian down in fourth place during the race, the Repsol Honda rider could have eased off to finish as runner-up to Quartararo and comfortably take the championship.

But the 26-year-old says the all-time greats are remembered for their racing exploits rather than the number of titles they achieve – something he wants to follow in.

“During your career you can win more or less and better or worse but in the end sometimes people, for example, remember Mamola more than other riders. Why? Because in the end it is the show on the track,” Marquez said. “To try to always to do something different and to try to push.

“Of course that’s why I pushed this weekend in qualifying and on the last lap. This is my mentality, my ambition and of course this ambition makes me win some championships like 2013 and maybe 2016 but of course this ambition makes me lose some championships like 2015.”

Pointing to his only MotoGP title defeat in 2015 shows Marquez is aware of the fine line he treads between the extraordinary and losing out in the long run.

This balance has been a firm reminder to Marquez throughout this season as he has often said he must maximise his own result even if it means having to settle for a result rather than crashing out.

In 2015 Marquez recorded six DNFs, five due to crashes, while this season he suffered the same fate just once – while leading during the Americas MotoGP.

“It is something that is part of my character, I try to control, my team try to control and try to give some good advice to me but in the end it is how I would like to be remembered,” he said.