FIM MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPION MARC MARQUEZ
P104
PROFILE
took Marc two years, but then
he won 10 of them, and the title.
Since then, he has matched or
exceeded Rossi's progress. He
should have won Moto2 at his
first attempt in 2011, but after
seven race wins, a crash on
unflagged water in practice at
Malaysia left him with a career-
threatening concussion and
double vision, only repaired
over Lorenzo with six wins; then
dominated completely in 2014
with 13 victories.
But 2015 was a mis-hit, with
"too many mistakes." This trans-
lates as too many race crashes.
Six times he scored zero points.
Even with five wins, it put him
third behind the Yamahas.
The year ended with Rossi's
notorious verbal and then on-
by micro-surgery the following
winter. He walked it in 2012 with
nine utterly dominant wins.
He replaced Casey Stoner in
the Repsol Honda MotoGP team
in 2013, and broke all youngest-
ever records, as he surged to
a maiden title by four points
"I HAD SEVERAL MEETINGS WITH HONDA. I
PROMISED THEM THAT I'D BE MORE CONSERVATIVE
AND FOCUSED ON GETTING AS MANY POINTS AS
POSSIBLE IN THE FIRST RACES, BUT THEY HAD TO
HELP ME IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE SEASON."
(Top left) An uneasy
truce. Marquez and
Rossi shook hands
at Catalunya, to the
delight of the fans
and relief of Dorna.
(Top right) Never
was Marquez's
newfound maturity
more evident than
his outsmarting
of rivals in the
treacherous
conditions of
Saschenring,
Germany.
track physical attack in the pen-
ultimate race at Sepang. It ruined
their previously cordial relation-
ship, so that it was a landmark
when they shook hands in parc
ferme at Catalunya (Rossi first,
Marquez second) in the emotional
aftermath of Luis Salom's fatal
