Family, friends and a new MotoGP crown: why Marc Márquez is ‘at peace’

By Jonathan Hawkins, CNN

(CNN) — Marc Márquez finally hauled himself back to the pinnacle of MotoGP in Japan last weekend, capping one of sport’s most arduous comeback stories with an almost flawless title charge.

The arrival of his seventh premier class title, and ninth crown in total, reduced the 32-year-old Spaniard to floods of tears as he dismounted his Ducati at the checkered flag and took in the enormity of his feat.

Arriving in Indonesia for the first of five remaining races this MotoGP season, a grinning Márquez sat down with a small group of international journalists, including CNN Sports, to reflect on his title, and his five-year journey through an injury-ravaged wilderness.

Realization

“When you are young, everything comes in a natural way, with natural instincts and natural talent. And even you don’t realize what a world championship is, honestly speaking,” Márquez explained, looking back to his first MotoGP title win.

“When I won in 2013, I didn’t realize what I was doing. So, now I realize, after 12 years, what is a world championship, and that it is super difficult to achieve.

“This one… I suffered much more. For that reason, (during) the celebration (it) was also more difficult to control my emotions than normally I try to control; but it is impossible when you are there, and I achieved something super nice… 2025 (is) one of the most special years of my life.”

Marc’s younger brother, Álex – currently second in the standings – spoke to CNN Sports recently about his elder sibling’s darkest moments, when the burden of multiple surgeries, broken bones and recurring diplopia looked set to curtail his glittering career.

“In that situation, it was difficult for the people who were close to him. He was like another person, another character, he was angry with everybody,” Álex said in June.

“Yeah, I recognize (that),” Marc admitted. “Álex is completely true on that. I always say that, maybe I lost some years of my career with (those) injuries, but, (those) years taught me many, many things for my personal life. You know, my character changed.”

The elder Márquez also said the years of struggle, with a combination of physical discomfort and his uncompetitive factory Honda, taught him a lot about those around him.

“When you’re in a team – the mechanics and the engineers, the big bosses – you can feel sometimes like a number when you are winning. It’s like you are a number, and you are here because you are winning, and they are just with you because you are winning,” he explained.

“But in that period, I saw that all those people were not around me because I’m winning, they were around me because they are a real friend. So, that also was one of the nicest things.”

Marc also credits his younger brother for helping him the most through the darkest times: “When (people) were asking me, ‘Who helps you?’ And I will say only one name. I mean, many people helped me, many, many, many… from my family, from my team, they know who they are.

“But if I need to say one name… I would say Álex, because he helps me, directly sometimes, but sometimes he didn’t know, but he was helping me. The fact that he was racing, the fact that I was at home just never disconnected about MotoGP because Álex was racing.”

‘At peace’

After Sunday’s victory in Motegi, Márquez told reporters in parc fermé that he was finally “at peace.” In Indonesia, the Catalan elaborated on his internal struggles.

“Yes, I mean, now I’m in peace with myself, because we cannot forget… I had four different surgeries on my right arm but (that) was because I came back too early. And, I mean, if (I had not), it (would have been) only one surgery, six months, I’m done.

“But that comeback was too early, too optimistic. And yeah, it was some people around me that gave me the chance, but the last decision was mine – to ride again and to try one week after surgery.

“And then my last decision was not the correct one, so I got into a period where I fight against me many times because one Marc says ‘Stop,’ one Marc says, ‘Continue,’” he explained.

“But right now, the Marc that says ‘continue’ was saying, ‘You must continue because you must prove to yourself that, okay, you didn’t take the right decision in the past, but you can, fighting, you can change the future.’

“So, for that reason, now I’m at peace. This doesn’t mean that the vision will change, that vision will be the same in the future, but if something (else) arrives, it will be a present.”

Equaling a legend

Sunday’s milestone means that Márquez now has the same number of title wins as Valentino Rossi, one of the sport’s most revered figures.

The Spaniard’s infamous on-track clash with Rossi in Malaysia back in 2015 created a lasting enmity towards Márquez from both Rossi himself and the Italian’s many loyal fans, a source of frustration for the 2025 champion’s Ducati team. The rider himself, though, said he doesn’t let the haters bother him.

“I don’t want to lose time, I mean, with them. I just try to enjoy my career. I try to do my 100% on the racetrack. I mean, it’s the same people that, some of them are saying that, for example, this year Ducati didn’t help Pecco because Ducati (wanted Márquez to win),” he said.

“I mean, it’s bullsh*t, it’s just bullsh*t, so just enjoy the motorbikes; one year will be one rider, the other year will be another rider, one year will be one manufacturer, the other year will be another manufacturer, but this racing is competition, and in the end, we must enjoy the show. That is (what is) most important. And the competition is what creates adrenaline. And what creates adrenaline is what the people want to see.”

As for the comparisons with Rossi himself, Márquez said he is honored.

“It’s a big honor to equal Valentino, you know, when you see your name around that, between that legend, Valentino Rossi, (Giacomo) Agustini, Ángel Nieto, Mick Doohan. I mean, a lot of big names around me, is something that, yeah, is quite impressive, and it’s a big honor to equal one of the biggest, or the most talented riders of the motorcycle world.”

‘Where is my name?’

While the newly crowned champion said his appetite for titles is undiminished, he said he intends to use the last five pressure-free races to plan for next season, rather than go all-out to win.

“During the season, I push hard, and I take the risks on the crucial moments. But right now, for example, in 2019 or 2018, when I was winning the championship, on the next race, I said, ‘Okay, now, all in, just nothing to lose.’

“Right now, I have a different mentality. It’s like, ‘Last five races of the year, I want to finish the races, just prepare well for 2026,’ and it doesn’t matter if I win one, two, five. I mean, it will not change the year 2025, the main target is done. So now the main target is finished the season in a good way, without injuries, and prepare for 2026.”

As to where he ranks himself in the pantheon of champions, Márquez told reporters at the roundtable that it is not his job to say.

“For me, it’s a pleasure, it’s just I’m riding and I’m trying to enjoy it, about my passion, and the results arrive, of course, arrive, and this is the most important. Then, when I will retire someday.

“Let’s see, I will read you, and I will read all of you. Where is my name?”

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