Red Bull Motorsports
MotoGP
Marc Márquez's path to the top
Marc Márquez is a six-time MotoGP™ champion and the youngest rider to have won six premier-class titles. Here's how he got there.
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Marc Márquez's rise to the very top has been swift, impressive and unforgiving, and the Spaniard now has six MotoGP™ titles to his name.
After becoming the youngest rider in the history of MotoGP™ to win a race in the premier class of the World Championship when he took victory at the Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas, Márquez took the sport by storm with a riding style and attitude rarely seen.
The Circuit of the Americas was their first victory in MotoGP
© Christian Pondella/Red Bull Content Pool
Take a look back at the Spaniard's meteoric rise to the top of the MotoGP™ world...
Pre-2008
First home podium for Marc in Jerez, May 2009
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Márquez built his early experience in the Catalan and Spanish National Championships, the latter of which has for a long time been the benchmark and breeding ground for the finest talent from around the world. The likes of Casey Stoner, Dani Pedrosa and Stefan Bradl have all competed in it, and after gaining enough of a grounding Márquez debuted in the World Championship 125cc class in 2008.
May 2009: Future team-mates
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2008 and 2009: World Championship debut and the learning curve
It didn't take long for Márquez to settle in and in only his sixth race he took a podium finish at the British GP at Donington. At just 15 years and 127 days of age it made him the youngest Spaniard to climb onto a World Championship podium, and by the end of the campaign Márquez had ridden in 13 of the 17 rounds.
The look of determination, even at 16
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2009, Márquez's second season in the 125cc World Championship, got off to a good start with a top-five finish in Japan and then a podium on home soil in Jerez in Round 3. It was followed by pole position at Le Mans, his first, and his raw pace was to be seen throughout the year with some strong qualifying displays. Results were promising too, and a top-eight finish in the final standings was his reward.
125cc World Champion!
© GEPA/Gold & Goose
2010: The first title
For the 2010 season Márquez joined the factory Derbi team and after he showed blistering pace in pre-season testing was among the favourites to challenge for the title.
What came next was a stunning run of form that really confirmed just how talented the then 17-year-old was. Márquez scored his first victory at the Italian GP, Round 4, and it kickstarted an incredible run of five straight wins as he blasted his way to the top of the standings.
The first Moto2 win...
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By the time the Championship arrived at the final round in Valencia, Márquez had taken 10 victories and started from pole 11 times. Fourth place in the last race wrapped up the title and he was on his way up to Moto2 as the 125cc World Champion...
2011: Speed and scares
Márquez was immediately fast on the 600cc Moto2 machine as soon as he climbed onto it in pre-season testing, and he qualified on the front row for his first race in the category: Round 1 in Qatar.
2011 title challenge derailed
© GEPA/Gold & Goose
However, youthful exuberance got the better of him and he crashed out in Losail, was taken out in the next race in Jerez and then went down again in Portugal. It was a tough introduction to the category for Márquez, but he used the experience well and in the next race won his first Moto2 GP in France. From there the wins snowballed and by the time the Championship arrived at the penultimate round in Malaysia he had seven wins and was fighting for the title with Stefan Bradl.
Marquez celebrates
© GEPA pictures/ Gold and Goose
A crash in practice at Sepang ended the season prematurely though, as Márquez struggled to recover from a vision problem and he missed the race there and in Valencia. The hangover was lengthy and affected his preparations for the 2012 season too, with Márquez later admitting he had begun to fear if he would be able to recover fully...
2012: World Champion
Arriving in Qatar for Round 1 the full extent of Márquez's fitness was uncertain. He dispelled any doubts with victory, and his form for the rest of the season was unmatchable.
Winning at Indy, and on the way to the 2012 crown
© GEPA/Gold & Goose
There was controversy along the way, with some of his aggressive riding drawing criticism from other riders and even sanctions from the FIM, but with nine wins and a total of 14 podiums from 17 GPs Márquez was a worthy Champion.
Signed, sealed, delivered... The 2012 Moto2 title
© GEPA/Gold & Goose
It was midway through the season – shortly after Casey Stoner's confirmed retirement from MotoGP™ at the end of the 2012 campaign – that Márquez was announced as Dani Pedrosa's Repsol Honda team-mate in MotoGP™ for 2013...
2013: MotoGP™ debut season (Wins = six)
As he had done in Moto2 Márquez took no time to adapt to a bigger bike, and his form in pre-season testing on the 1000cc Honda had tongues wagging amongst his fellow MotoGP™ riders.
Marquez's MotoGP success kicked off at the Circuit of the Americas in 2013
© Christian Pondella/Red Bull Content Pool
When the lights went out in Qatar for the opening race of the season he was fearless, and a podium on his debut added to the buzz surrounding a talent which had already been acknowledged as something very special.
Márquez won the next race at the Circuit of the Americas went on to win five more races, claiming his first MotoGP title in the final round of the series, beating Jorge Lorenzo by 34 points and becoming the first rookie since Kenny Roberts in 1978.
2014 (Wins = 13)
In his second season Márquez went above and beyond the hype that had followed his entry into the MotoGP™ class.
Márquez's celebrations have never gone unnoticed
© Gold & Goose/Red Bull Content Pool
The Spanish rider won the first ten races of the season in an unbroken winning streak lasting from March until September of 2014. Márquez took his second title with Honda a massive 67 points ahead of Valentino Rossi.
2015 (Wins = seven)
In a season full of collisions and clashes between Márquez, Rossi and Lorenzo it wouldn’t be a hat-trick of titles and Márquez would have to settle for third in the standings as controversy and a number of retirements hampered his title charge.
In 2015, the rivalry with Yamaha was very tough
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Compatriot Jorge Lorenzo would end up as champion with seven wins to claim his third MotoGP™ title ahead of Yamaha team-mate Rossi.
2016 (Wins = five)
Márquez regained his MotoGP™ crown with his fifth victory of the season at the Japanese Grand Prix as his fierce title rivals Lorenzo and Rossi both crashed out.
Marc is not short of fans
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This gave Márquez his third championship title with three races remaining in what was a hard fought season between Yamaha and Honda and the top three riders.
2017 (Wins = six)
Despite a strong start from Andrea Dovizioso on the Ducati, Márquez stamped his authority on the MotoGP™ championship mid season with a brace of back-to-back wins in Germany and the Czech Republic and would go on to win three more as Dovizioso’s challenge waned.
Marquez's biggest rival in 2017: Andrea Dovizioso
© Gold & Goose/Red Bull Content Pool
At the final race of the season in Valencia Dovizioso needed to win and see Márquez finish 11th or lower in order to become champion. When Dovizioso crashed his Ducati on lap 5 Márquez sealed his fourth MotoGP™ title on home soil in Valencia.
2018: Five-time MotoGP™ World Champion
Marc Marquez celebrates winning his seventh world title
© Gold & Goose/Red Bull Content Pool
Following a podium finish at the opening race in Qatar and a disastrous Argentinian Grand Prix Márquez refocused and nailed his championship intentions to the wall with a hat-trick of wins.
As the season got going, despite a strong showing from both of the Ducati riders Jorge Lorenzo and Andrea Dovizioso, it would be the reliability and consistency of the Honda/Márquez combination that would ensure a nine-race run of either winning or finishing on the podium.
Later in the year the brave Ducati challenge was taken up by Dovizioso, as team-mate Lorenzo’s mid season charge faltered and ended in injury, but by the Japanese Grand Prix at the Motegi Twin Ring it was all but a formality that Márquez would become a five-time MotoGP™ champion.
Dovizioso needed to win in Japan to have any chance of winning his first MotoGP™ crown, but In the race Márquez executed a typically measured ride and Dovizioso crashed out with two laps remaining, handing the 2018 MotoGP™ title to Marc Márquez.
4 min
Marc Marquez's 2018 MotoGP World Champion interview
Marc Marquez's 2018 MotoGP World Champion interview
With three races remaining in the 2018 MotoGP™ calendar the 25-year-old Spaniard is the youngest rider in the history of the sport to win seven World Championships and is also the youngest rider to have won five premier-class titles.
2018: Sixth MotoGP™ overall title and fourth in a row
After a pre-season that was rather compromised by having undergone shoulder surgery, Márquez almost managed a win in Qatar in the opening week of the season, but went on to dominate from pillar to post in Argentina.
He next looked all set for another win in the United States before crashing out due to an issue with the brakes, but Márquez wasn’t down and out for long, roaring back to the top of the championships standings with an assured victory in Jerez, again leading from the outset and never headed.
After an early tussle with Jake Miller in Le Mans, Márquez was able to pull away and take the win in France, before a second placed finish at Mugello was the result of a battle with Ducati pair Andrea Dovizioso and race winner Danilo Petrucci.
Márquez escaped a potentially dangerous moment in Barcelona when Jorge Lorenzo lost his front end and took out four riders at once – and it was almost five, but Márquez was able to avoid the carnage and in the end ease to victory in Catalonia to earn his second win at his home GP.
A second place at Assen preceded a dominant win at the Sachsenring (Márquez’s 10th straight victory at that particular circuit in all categories of racing) that was his fifth victory of the campaign and allowed Márquez a big overall lead over his rivals at the summer break.
In very testing conditions in Brno after the break Márquez landed his 50th career MotoGP™ with yet another start to finish success, before he was edged into second place at the last corner by Dovizioso at the Red Bull Ring in Austria.
Another, even tighter, second place followed for Márquez, at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone when Alex Rins beat him by half a bike length in a thrilling finish there, but in the next GP Márquez was back on the top step of the podium again with a last lap win in Misano over French rookie Fabio Quartararo.
Next up was Márquez’s 200th Grand Prix start the Aragón Motorland and it was fittingly marked with a race win after another dominant victory from pole position to open up a 93-point lead in the overall championship standings.
And a sixth career MotoGP™ world title was sealed in Thailand, although not without a scare, when Márquez was taken to hospital after a crash in practise at the Buriram circuit, but he returned to win the GP and secure his fourth straight overall championship.
"I was planning the weekend to win the race and not think about the championship," Márquez said.
"My target was to find the best way to win the race, and that's what I did.
"Amazing year. All the team did an amazing job. Now it's time to enjoy and celebrate the title."
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