VOL. 50 ISSUE 22 JUNE 4, 2013
Julia has always been a motorcyclist, and not so much a roadrace fan, "though I did once ride
to Holland to see the TT. Sometimes I went to track days, but I
never had enough money to race.
But I worked as a corner worker
at motocross events. Both boys
worked with me as flagmen.
"Then when he was five Marc
said: 'I want a motorcycle. And
life changed. It was completely
Marc's enthusiasm, his idea."
Marc rode motocross and dirttrack as well as minimoto, on a
50cc Conti, "but road-racing was
never on the table because it was
too expensive."
Until he was spotted, at eight
years old at a minimoto track,
by Guim Roda, then racer/team
manager now heading the Kawasaki World Superbike team. This
kid, he observed, could find the
line round a racetrack. He was
going to be good.
Roda signed him up for his Procurva team, and he was soon attracting national attention. "When
he was 11 he was riding a full GP
RS125 Honda," recalls Julia. "We
had to cut the tank shorter so
he could reach the bars. Three
cuts."
Marc was on his way, but while
P91
original mentor Roda took Joan
Lascorz under his wing, Marquez
now joined up with Alzamora
in the RACC (Royal Automobile Club of Catalunya) national
squad. The partnership has born
great fruit.
Says Julia: "There are a lot of
people in Spain who understand
racing and who could have been
guides, but the way they work
together has been very
Marc Marquez
compatible. But with
Marc's talent, he probably would have made it
anyway."
By now his parents
were climbing the ladder of fear mixed with
pride. Julia: "It was
then it stopped being a
hobby and started..." he
gives the Spanish handcode for nervousness,
testicles tucked under
your chin. "With his light
weight, he was going
pretty fast on the RS125.
It was frightening for the
family."
" I MUST TRY TO MAKE
SOMETHING GOOD, TO MAKE
MY OWN PLACE IN THE
CHAMPIONSHIP.
"
- Alex Marquez
