Over the last two years or so, we’ve heard and seen Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) speak openly about the tough journey he’s been on since his 2020 Spanish Grand Prix crash. It’s been a slog that we’ve all paid close attention to, as one of the greatest motorcycle racers waded through the toughest years he’s ever faced in the sport.
Chatting with GQ, the famous number 93 once again recalls what he’s been through in fascinating depth. “Honestly, I don't even know how I managed to win three races in 2021, but it's even less clear to me how I was able to finish fourth in Jerez at the beginning of the 2022 season, because I didn't have my head in the competition, neither the head nor the physique,” says Marquez.
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“There was a moment in the season, when the Grands Prix of Portimao and Jerez arrived, when I turned my head off and said that I can't take it anymore. And that's when I go, just before Portimao, to my doctors in Madrid and I tell them: 'There's something wrong with this arm here…”
Marquez details the severe pain he was suffering before having the fourth surgery after the 2022 Italian Grand Prix to fix the 34-degree rotated right humerus bone. “I would win and I would cry. What comes out of me when I win is partying, celebrating, and laughing with my family... Well, then it went the other way and it was because of the pain, the pain that I constantly suffered in my arm, which I couldn’t forget.”
You can read the full interview with GQ by following the link at the top of the article, including Marquez explaining how his grandad was in favour of the eight-time World Champion stopping racing due to the agony he was in. Marquez also glances back at 2015, while looking ahead to the 2023 season too.