MARC MARQUEZ SAYS A 10TH TITLE WOULD NOT CHANGE HOW HE VIEWS HIS CAREER

Marc Marquez says a 10th world championship would not change how he feels about his career, even as he closes in on Valentino Rossi’s premier-class title tally.

Marquez matched Rossi’s seven MotoGP crowns last year. He is now chasing another title, with a 19-point advantage over compatriot Jorge Martin heading into the Malaysian Grand Prix. Martin’s recent injury setback has further improved Marquez’s position in the contest.

Across all Grand Prix classes, Marquez has also won the 125cc and 250cc championships. A 10th title would put him among the small group of riders to reach double figures in world championships, behind Giacomo Agostini.

In an interview with Diario AS, Marquez was asked about Fonsi Nieto’s suggestion that his motivation is to surpass Rossi. He said he could understand that view, particularly if it had been put to him in 2019, when he was 26, had six titles and had just won four in a row. “I’d have said, ‘Come on, I want more,’” he recalled.

But the injuries and setbacks he experienced between 2020 and 2023 changed his perspective. Marquez said athletes have their own paths and that it is impossible to know how a career might have unfolded without injury. He had enjoyed the career he dreamed of, he said, until he was forced to recognise that “we’re only human” and that he had not fully understood the risks of motorcycle racing.

His view of those risks has also been affected by seeing his brother Alex’s serious crash at the Catalan Grand Prix in May. “Until it happened to me, I didn’t really get it,” Marquez said of witnessing accidents. Seeing his brother’s crash had made him value life and every athlete’s career even more, he added.

Winning a ninth title last year, after his own difficult injury period, was especially important to him. “Having won [the ninth], I’ll retire at peace whenever that day comes,” he said. Whether he adds another championship, Marquez concluded, “won’t change my outlook. It won’t change me.”