Red Bull Motorsports
MotoGP
What makes Marc Márquez a MotoGP world champion?
There are some unique factors the champ has had from the very start. Find what made him stand out.
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Marc Márquez is fast, fearless, handles pressure without fuss, and has the kind of personality that provides the perfect seal on a world champion package.
What exactly have been the key components to Márquez's success and four world titles to date (two in MotoGP, and one each in Moto2 and 125cc)? Let's find out from two men who know.
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Maturity that belied his young years
Márquez had just turned 17 when he started the 2010 season in the 125cc class, riding for Aki Ajo's Red Bull team.
Aki Ajo: I saw something special – that he never gave up. He had some crashes, some accidents, injuries, but he always came back. When I spoke to him for the first few times before he arrived in the team, I felt that I was speaking with an older guy.
When he was 16 I felt like I was speaking with a 30 year old man. It was something special.
Aki Ajo gives Marc Márquez some advice in 2010
© GEPA/Gold & Goose
Spaniard Santi Hernández first worked with Márquez at the end of 2010, in preparation for his first season in Moto2, and has been with him for four years now.
Santi Hernández: It was very impressive for me, the first time he tried the Moto2 bike, how he explained the problems on the bike. It was like he already had a lot of experience on that bike. He was a young boy without any experience, he came from a 125cc 2-stroke engine and went to a 600cc 4-stroke engine and a heavy bike, and I was expecting it would be more difficult for him to explain what happened.
I thought this guy is unbelievable because with no experience and at such a young age, I was surprised because he gave me what I needed.
Marc Márquez and Santi Hernández talk tactics
© Repsol Media
The right mix of desire and intelligence
SH: I think he is a clever guy. He likes what he is doing and he tries to understand as soon as he can what happened on the bike. Even when he feels everything is okay, he always tries to improve and he is open to learn and to listen. He is so precise when he gives you feedback about the bike.
AA: He never gives up. Racing is everything for him, so I think he is ready to sacrifice big things to reach his targets. You need to be passionate – you can work on that. But I think being hungry has to come from within, almost automatically. You need to have high targets, and be ready to do everything to achieve them.
The people around you can show you the way, but basically it comes from within the rider.
The ability to never cease surprising
AA: I always believed he would do something big, but it was difficult to bet on when he would win the next championship or be at the top of MotoGP. I have to say though, that after the season we worked together I expected something like that.
It was a special year, working with him, and I learned a lot myself.
SH: In every practice and every race there are many things he does that surprise me. For example in Brno when we were testing and he almost crashed, he saved it. Not many riders could do that. Lucky or not lucky, he is trying. This is the surprise.
It's not only when the positive things are happening, even in the negative moments he continues to surprise.
Love two-wheel racing? Check out On Any Sunday: The Next Chapter.
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