Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1193082
2019 CYCLE NEWS RIDER OF THE YEAR—MOTOGP CHAMPION MARC MARQUEZ P94 Interview opportunity to stick his fingers in the ribs of his rivals, but he manages to make it look good- natured. Even against Valentino Rossi, his most frequent and vehement attacker. In 2019, there was a new one to rib, and while he started out by flattering Fabio Quartar- aro's performances as a way of down-grading those of fellow Yamaha riders Maverick Vinales and Rossi, by the end of the year the ground- work had changed, and perhaps significantly the French rookie had undercut Marquez's youngest-ever pole record by 47 days. "I expected Dovi and Maverick," he said, while sharing the top step with Fabio at the Thailand race where he'd passed him on the last corner, and won the championship. "But I didn't expect this guy. He was fighting to the end, very tough. Next year he will be a big rider for the champion- ship." Quartararo's riding, he said, "reminds me of Lorenzo, when he was at his best." He spoke of a significant effort from Honda but acknowledged that the 2019 bike was not easy to ride. "Not only Lorenzo had trouble, but also sometimes Crutchlow." His own talent means he can ride around problems. "You may think it looks easy, but you cannot imagine how I play with my elbows mid-corner, how I play with my body," he said, but it doesn't necessarily stand Honda in good stead in developing a bike on which more riders can achieve success. But if Quartararo will be a bigger threat next year, on a full factory Yamaha which, in post- season tests showed a horsepower improve- ment, there is another more subtle difficulty for him to deal with—sibling power. After Jorge Lorenzo's surprise resignation at the last race of 2019 came another surprise: Repsol Honda plucked his younger brother Alex out of his existing Moto2 contract to put the two side by side in the premier factory team. Marc believes this will be helpful. The family is close and the brothers very much so, train- ing together pretty much from their earliest memories, and together whenever possible at the track. The only drawback has been a focus on Alex comparing him to Marc. The younger HIS PERSONALITY IS SUNNY, AND HE ACCEPTS ADVERSITY EASILY. THAT IS HOW HE MAKES IT LOOK, ANYWAY. IN TRUTH, HE NEVER MISSES AN OPPORTUNITY TO STICK HIS FINGERS IN THE RIBS OF HIS RIVALS. Even with a smashed-up shoulder, Marquez still completed his quota of season-ending testing laps in Valencia and Jerez.