When Marc Marquez crossed the line at the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday, there was no longer any doubt, not about the title that felt inevitable for weeks, but that he had achieved something deeper by completing one of MotoGP’s greatest comebacks.
Six years had passed since he last stood proudly on the summit of motorcycle racing — years filled with doubts, crashes, broken bones and whispers of retirement when the most dominant rider on the grid often looked like a ghost of himself.
However, aboard the red Ducati that had once been his nemesis, he was not just winning races, but conquering the grid as he got his hands on the elusive seventh premier class crown to go level with long-time rival and MotoGP great Valentino Rossi.
Photo: Reuters
“I’m at peace with myself... It was the most difficult challenge of my career. I arrived in MotoGP and straight away I was winning,” Marquez said after the finish at Motegi. “But then, from the glory, I was in the deepest [lowest] moment of my career with a lot of injuries ... but I never gave up.”
There had been a time when Marquez was untouchable, a whirlwind in Honda’s red and orange when he was crowned champion as a 20-year-old rookie in 2013, before the new kid on the block became the man to beat when he lifted his sixth title in 2019.
However, a crash in the season-opener in 2020 changed everything, his arm broken and his ambitions shattered.
Photo: EPA
Yamaha and Ducati also got their act together with superior bikes that gave Marquez a run for his money, and as he desperately began riding the Honda beyond its limits, he inevitably experienced numerous crashes.
What followed was not just physical torment involving multiple surgeries, aborted comebacks and blurred vision, but also the erosion of confidence.
Even Marquez began to wonder if it was all worth it as he pondered retirement before jumping ship to Gresini Racing.
A year with Gresini gave him a renewed sense of belief as he registered his first victory in 1,043 days and an impressive campaign on a year-old Ducati bike convinced the Italian manufacturer to give him the factory seat.
It was a match made in heaven as the best rider on the grid became one with the fastest machine, and Marquez has not looked back since, claiming he was “reborn” as he racked up wins — even when he started on the second row.
As other riders nervously looked over their shoulders while leading races, Marquez enjoyed the thrill of the hunt, waiting for the opportune moment to pounce before he became a red speck in the distance.
Never before this season had two siblings finished first and second in any class of Grand Prix racing, but Marc and Alex Marquez did it so often this year, it became background noise.
Just like tennis’ Williams sisters, they pushed each other to their limits and left the chasing pack far behind, a supporting act to a family drama unfolding on circuits around the world.
Twice champion Francesco Bagnaia’s challenge faded away as he failed to come to grips with the new Ducati bike, and when Marc clinched seven straight sprint-race doubles, the fight was virtually over as the small gap to Alex became a gaping chasm.
Pedro Acosta had said it best when he predicted Marc Marquez would complete “one of the greatest comebacks” in sport.
“We can compare this with Michael Jordan, when he went to play baseball and then came back to basketball” to win three more NBA titles, Acosta said.
Marc brought up match point in Misano — on Rossi territory — where the Italian’s fans cheered when the Spaniard crashed in the sprint before they were silenced when he exacted revenge by winning the race.
At the Japanese Grand Prix, after 2,184 days, four surgeries and more than 100 crashes since his last title, he locked in his legacy by adding his name for a seventh time to the “Tower of Champions” trophy.
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