Marc Marquez has given insight into why he has established such a reputation for bouncing back immediately after an accident, no matter the size, saying it is his desire to be professional and do his job that helps him dust off.
It has been a difficult couple of years for the once dominant force of MotoGP, Marquez battling a string of injuries alongside a difficulty in bringing the temperamental Honda RC213V up to speed again.
Arguably reaching the height of his powers come the conclusion of the 2019 season when he reeled off his sixth MotoGP title - also fifth in a row - and eighth GP crown, Marquez’s career was thrown into disarray with a big crash during the season opening Spanish MotoGP in 2020 in Jerez.
Despite being diagnosed with a broken arm, Marquez attempted to ride in the following event just three days after surgery, though he’d eventually opt to sit out the race. It was to be the last time Marquez was seen on a bike until Round 3 in 2021, the Spaniard undergoing two further surgeries to ease the strain on his arm and shoulder.
Since then Marquez has shown flashes of his fine form, notably in his wins at Sachsenring, COTA and Misano, albeit interspersed with some terrifying high-speed accidents at Assen, Silverstone and again at Jerez, before a recurrence of an eye injury forced him out of the final two events.
Mercifully Marquez avoided injury in those 2021 crashes, while they lived up to his dogged reputation for being able to shrug off smashes and be back on track minutes later as though they never happened.
It’s a method he touches upon in a documentary for Spanish broadcaster DAZN, in which he says he always maintains the desire to get back on the bike, even if it is to a fault as shown in 2020.
“Motorcycles are part of my life, my life would have no meaning without the word motorbike or without the motorbike, without a relationship with motorcycling. We riders usually already know well what happens when you fall, the risk you run, the pain and possible injury.
“Crash and sometimes you want to go right back into this motion, but sometime this desire is not there and you prefer to wait a few days. But you can never forget to be professional. It’s your passion, but also your work and sometimes simply you have to get back on the saddle.
He also delved into the frustrations of returning to the Honda and failing to get the same feeling as before.
“The worst feeling you get is when things don’t work out on the bike. When you fall, sometimes you feel good, then you collapse. You can make a mistake and many things can happen, but for a variety of reasons you are fighting to get back in shape, the sensations are worse.
“But there is a downside and you feel it when you are on the bike. Something that I almost never feel in life except when I am in the saddle. The unique feeling of freedom, which makes you risk into a corner.”
