Marc Márquez

First steps (1993-2000)
They say all roads lead to Rome, but in some people’s case, when they have the passion for motorbikes printed in their genes, all roads lead to the Motorcycling World Championship. Marc Márquez landed in the Continental Circus for the first time when he was barely 15. A real challenge, however you look at it. Nevertheless, it seems that it could not have been any other way, seeing that his father is one of the thousandths of fans that year after year travel on motorbike to the Jerez Grand Prix. It is no wonder that at four Marc asked for a bike on Christmas and at thirteen he had already been Catalan Champion three times (in motocross and road racing).

On February 1993, Czechoslovakia disappeared after 74 years and actress Audrey Hepburn had passed away some days before. On the 17th of that month, a future champion was born in Lleida. Young Marc has always lived in Cervera, a small town near the capital of the province where he lives with his parents and his brother Alex. Three years younger, his brother has followed in his steps and in 2012 won Spanish Championship (CEV).

When he was four, Marc Márquez asked for a motorbike for Christmas and, with two training wheels, he took his first steps with it. He would go with his father to an esplanade near their house, to an industrial area or even a friend’s field to practice before taking part in his first races. When he was five, he participated in the “Enduro for kids” in the initiation category. He would have preferred to practice motocross, a more fun competition where all the riders start at the same time and where he was able to put himself to test against other kids, without having to look at the times when the race is over. However, in motocross did not exist a class for his age at that time.

The following year, 1999, his father bought him a second-hand KTM 50, which he used to keep enjoying enduro and also to start in motocross. In 2000, although he continued competing in enduro, he was also runner up at the Motocross Catalan Championship and, a year later, he took another step forward and was Catalan Champion of the initiation category. He kept practising enduro, a discipline in which he finished fourth that year with a Kawasaki 65, already with gears.

From dirt to tarmac (2000-2007)
Nevertheless, that year his life would take an important turn. The Motorcycling Catalan Federation launched the Conti Cup, a road racing promotion series that included bike, helmet, overall, gloves, boots and licence. His good performances in the fastest motocross races inspired him to try his luck on the Kart circuits’ tarmac, although the initial stages were a little disappointing. Marc, who was used to be in front in motocross, did not know how to not go fast. However, by mid season he started to feel more comfortable and decided to repeat the experience the following year.

It was then when he entered in Procurve, a team from Mataro with which he finished third in the Conti Cup. He kept competing in motocross but in 2002 he started to focus in road racing. With the same team he changed to the big circuits by taking part in the Open RACC 50, a six-race Catalan Championship held in Montmeló (2), Calafat (3) and Can Padró (1). It was supposed that his first year should be one of adaptation and learning, but Marc won the championship with an overwhelming performance, sometimes finishing some races with an advantage of 20 seconds over his rivals.

Due to the excellent results of 2003, the following year Márquez jumped to the 125 class with a Honda 125 GP. He signed for the RACC Impala team, with Pol Espargaró –who was two years older- as his team mate. After the six races held in Montmeló (2), Valencia (2) and Albacete (2), he took the runner-up position behind his team mate.

A year later, the team changed his name to RACC CajaMadrid and the Monlau mechanics started to be part of it. It was an important year for the rider, as it was then when he met Emilio Alzamora, 1999 125cc World Champion. During that season Márquez won the 125cc Catalan Championship, as well as the 85cc class of the Supermotard Catalan Championship. The following year he repeated the Catalan triumph, and at the same time made his debut in the Spanish Road Racing Championship (CEV), where he achieved the eight overall position.

In 2007 he participated again in the CEV, this time with KTM, but several crashes prevented him from taking a better position than ninth overall. Márquez, with 1.50m height and 43kg, was forced to take a 20kg ballast that affected the bike negatively in the changes of direction, as the inertia would drag him out of the track. Nonetheless, he was able to win one of the seven races of the Championship, at the Jerez circuit.

World Championship Debut (2008)
At the end of the 2007 season, shortly before the last race in Valencia, he went with n Emilio Alzamora to the Ricardo Tormo Circuit to attend the Valencia Grand Prix. Immersed in the world championship atmosphere, Márquez thought he was there to learn and prepare himself for the last CEV round. But Alzamora had a surprise for him: the next year he would be part of the big World Championship family. Both surprised and elated, Marc accepted the challenge and in 2008 he embarked in a new odyssey, in which he would learn and grow as a rider.

His debut in the Motorcycling World Championship was with the Repsol KTM Team livery at the Portuguese Grand Prix that took place in Estoril. During the preseason, an ill-timed crash ended with a fracture of his right arm that prevented him from being in the starting grid in the first two races. But he was finally able to make his debut around the middle of April. Márquez gave glimpses of his talent in that very first race, but it was in the second, in China, where he won his first two points and made his remarkable potential clear.

In the following races he kept being seen among the top places, but it was in his sixth race, at the English Grand Prix, where he was able to set a milestone in motorcycling history. Márquez reached the finish line in third position, the youngest rider ever to get on a World Championship podium and the youngest Spanish rider to achieve that feat.

With a KTM, the Repsol rider alternated great performances, such as in San Marino and Indianapolis, with an occasional setback, such as in the Malaysian Grand Prix, where he had to finish the season ahead of time. In the practice sessions, Marc was run over by a rival, with such misfortune that his leg was trapped between the wheel and the swingarm and broke the epiphyseal plate of his tibia. Nevertheless, the season’s assessment was impressive, as he finished in thirteenth position overall, despite having missed four races due to injury.

Second year in the World Championship (2009)
Again with Repsol livery, Marc showed again in his second World Championship season the talent that had impressed everyone, breaking new precociousness records: at the French Grand Prix, the Repsol rider was the second youngest rider ever to get a pole position in the World Championship. Again with a 93 in his fairing, a number that shows the year he was born, he competed that season in the official KTM team, fighting week after week to get on the podium. He achieved it in the third round of the year, in Jerez, and despite being among the top group in several occasions, bad luck and crashed combined to prevent him from repeating the feat in the rest of the season.

From the start of the Championship, Márquez was among the fastest group and at the Qatar Grand Prix aroused a situation that would repeat itself several times during the year: a crash when he was fighting for a place on the podium. In France, Germany, England, Portugal and Valencia, Márquez left with bare hands after superb performances that demonstrated his talents.

Despite all the difficulties, Marquez finally achieved his objective: to finish nearly all Grand Prix among the top five. In many occasions, it was clear that he had a superior level than his own bike –a KTM, a brand that announced its retirement from the World Championship at the end of that season –allowed him. Considered as one of the young promises of the Spanish Motorcycling, he did not lack offers for 2010, a season that the Repsol rider will face with the Ajo Motorsport team and a Derbi.

World Champion (2010)
It was his third year in the Continental Circus and the first one he had the same weapons as the rest of his rivals. With a bike exactly identical as the rest of the candidates for the triumph in each race, it was the season in which Marquez was able to fully show his potential and took every opportunity to keep setting records in his short but remarkable career as a rider. From the preseason, the Repsol rider set a record pace, showing a great adaptation to his new bike and team.

In the first race, Marquez showed his aspirations when he took the pole position and got onto the podium, although he had the feeling he could have done better. However, he soon found the first obstacle: after setting another pole position in the second Grand Prix of the season in Jerez, in the race he was incredibly unlucky. He had not finished the first lap when the exhaust system broke, detaching itself and knocking the rear wheel in one of the Andalusian track fast corners. Marc was thrown through the air and dislocated his right shoulder.

Putting a lot of effort in his recovery, he got again on the podium on the following race, in France, before achieving two weeks later the first victory of his sporting career at the Mugello Circuit. A success that demonstrated the talent of the Repsol rider, who won the following four races consecutively, also setting all the pole positions and breaking precociousness records set years ago by the young Valentino Rossi.

The summer break interrupted Marquez’s winning streak and in the first practice of the Czech Republic Grand Prix he dislocated his left shoulder in a crash. Despite that, he was able to compete in the race and, although he mounted the wrong tyres, which ended completely worn, he finished in seventh position. Again with a huge effort in his physical recovery, the rider from Cervera (Lleida) showed again the high level he had before the summer. Nevertheless, a mistake at the Indianapolis Circuit made him crash again when he was leading the race. He was able to finish tenth – despite receiving a 20-second penalty-, and kept the lead of the championship.

A lead that, although reinforced by a new victory in the following round in San Marino, he lost two weeks later at the Aragon Grand Prix. He was run over by another rider and was forced to leave with no points for the second time in the season. He then faced the Asian tour fully determined and with the personal aim to return to Spain as leader of the class. And he did it. Márquez dominated the class with authority both in Japan, Malaysia and Australia, winning the three rounds setting the fastest time in the practice sessions and achieving the race victory. Undoubtedly, this was an important step forward in his battle for the title, as he set a perfect hat-trick without a single mistake.

Then the Portuguese Grand Prix arrived. There Marc Márquez astonished all the motorcycling world with a performance worthy of a Hollywood movie. With the race suspended due to the rain, the Repsol rider crashed in the new formation lap, less than ten minutes before the restart of the race. His bike was repaired just in time with the help of all his mechanics and even other riders. He started from the last position of the grid, but was already fourth at the end of the first lap after a wonderful performance. In the end, he set an epic victory just ahead of Nico Terol. Pol Espargaró, tenth, got out of the championship battle. The title would be decided in Valencia in a duel between two riders: Marc Márquez and Nico Terol.

The Repsol rider arrived to the last round of the season with an advantage of 17 points in the overall classification, but perfectly aware that the World Championship had not finished and that he had to keep concentration until reaching the chequered flag. In a perfect weekend Marquez set yet another pole position, matching the record of pole positions set by a living legend of motorcycling, the Repsol rider Mick Doohan. In the race he showed the maturity that had characterized him all season, although for once he avoided entering the battle for victory. His final fourth position allowed him to reach the finish line celebrating the title. He was the 2010 125cc World Champion at 17, after getting 10 victories and 12 pole positions.

After getting the title, the natural step for the young Repsol rider is to change classes in 2011 and follow his unstoppable progression with any bike he might lay his hands on. With a new team created from scratch, Marquez will count on engineers with lots of experience in Moto2 and MotoGP for his debut in the intermediate category. A real jungle where he will need to show all the talent that has turned him into a true motorcycling star and keep progressing.

The Repsol rider arrived at the last race of the season with a comfortable advantage of 17 points in the overall standings, but was aware that he couldn’t afford to lose concentration until the chequered flag had been waved. On a perfect weekend, Márquez took yet another pole position —equalling the record for the most in a season, held by fellow Repsol competitor Mick Doohan. In the race itself he rode with the maturity typical of his season, avoiding the risky fight for victory and doing what was necessary in order to clinch the title. Fourth place was enough to ensure that, at 17 years old and with 10 wins & 12 poles, the Spaniard was 125cc World Champion for 2010.

Runner-up at Moto2 in his first year (2011)
With the title in the bag, the young rider made the move up to Moto2 for 2011. He did so as part of a team created especially for him, boasting experienced mechanics and the same Repsol support that had helped his career in 125cc. It took him four races to get to grips with the class, as three crashes from the opening four races gave him plenty of food for thought. At the French GP, however, he announced his arrival as a serious title contender.

Victory at Le Mans and second place at Montmeló showed that he was not out of his depth in the class, but one race later he suffered another crash whilst fighting for the win at the British GP. This was the final blip before a huge comeback, in which he picked up three consecutive wins —Assen, Italy and Germany—, one second place —Brno—, a further three wins on the bounce —Indianápolis, San Marino and Aragón— and another second place —Motegi.

That run cut a gap of 82 points between the Spanish star and series leader, Stefan Bradl, putting Márquez in front for the first time. There was still to be another amazing comeback in 2011 —this time at the Australian GP. After being penalised for an infraction in Free Practice and sent to 38th on the grid, he would have to do something very special to take something away from Phillip Island. That Sunday he overtook 35 rivals to complete the podium.

Seven wins, three second places and a third place gave Márquez the Rookie of the Year honour for 2011, although his season ended on a sour note when he crashed in qualifying for the penultimate race of the season in Malaysia and was unable to compete in the final two events. That meant that he conceded the title, albeit taking a creditable runner-up spot in the Moto2 World Championship.

Moto2 World Champion for 2012
Marc Marquez faced his second year in the intermediate category with the highest possible aspirations. Accompanied by the same team as last year, the Repsol rider fought to repeat the form shown in his brilliant 2011 season right from the start, in the cylinder class that has become the most competitive in the world. In this jungle of talented riders, he has emerged as champion at the penultimate round of the season.

The start of the year was not easy for Marquez, who missed almost the entire preseason whilst recovering from an injury sustained in free practice for the 2011 Malaysian Grand Prix, which had also prevented him from participating in the last two rounds of that campaign. Marc recovered in time for the Qatar Grand Prix, the first race of 2012, but had accumulated very few miles on his Moto2 bike. Despite this, he started 2012 as one of the favorites to take the title.

He did not disappoint. The Repsol rider overcame everything thrown his way and and took the win in the desert, showing that he was fully recovered and ready to push for the title. That victory was followed by a second in Jerez and another win in Portugal. At the fourth round, held at the Le Mans circuit, the Spaniard took pole position but suffered a crash in an intense downpour on race day. That small blot on his record was followed by 9 podiums from 12 races. Eight wins —in Qatar, Portugal, Holland, Germany, Indianapolis, Czech Republic, San Marino and Japan—, two runner-up finishes —Catalonia and Great Britain—, and three third places —Jerez and Aragon, established his credentials.

With everything going in his favour, rain again caught Márquez out at the Malaysian Grand Prix. Three laps into the race, the Repsol rider crashed out. Fortunately, the advantage gained at the preceding races allowed for him to clinch the crown just one week later.

The newly crowned Moto2 World Champion has some extraordinary figures to his name in a great year: He is the rider under-20 with the most wins, 25, had been on the podium 13 times from a possible 16 possible and has broken the record for points scored in Moto2 by racking up 299 —with one race to go in 2012. With the title already under his belt, Marc Márquez now faces his final Moto2 contest with no pressure and one eye on MotoGP, where he will ride next year in the Repsol Honda Team.