Marc Marquez returns to Motegi this weekend, the circuit where he was crowned MotoGP world champion a year ago, but he does so after yet another process of rebuilding himself and readjusting his priorities.
Japan has always been a special place for Marquez, who has maintained particularly strong ties with the Asian country, where he has celebrated four of the seven world titles he has accumulated in the premier class. Winning the last of them, in 2025, was probably the most intense and satisfying of them all for a rider who had spent his entire life getting used to winning, only to stop doing so in traumatic fashion in July 2020, following a miscalculation in the rehabilitation of his right shoulder after a crash at Jerez.
Six years and as many operations followed, an ordeal that led him to consider throwing in the towel, and even to changing bikes. All that suffering and tension was perfectly encapsulated in the extraordinary scream he let out a few seconds after crossing the finish line in second place and sealing the championship. "I've done it! I really have done it!" he told himself, speaking in Catalan, his mother tongue, as he stood on the footpegs of his Ducati. His cry reached the entire audience thanks to a radio system fitted by the organisers specifically for that purpose.
As the hours went by and he began to calm down, the Spaniard started to feel the symptoms of the accumulated physical and emotional strain. "I've found peace with myself, but I'm also empty. Right now, I don't even feel like getting back on the bike," he said in the days that followed, without realising that he would indeed spend another considerable stretch of time unable to do what he loves most, as a consequence of the crash he suffered in Indonesia, the race immediately after his title celebrations, in which he injured his shoulder again.
That crash, in which Marco Bezzecchi took him out shortly after the start of Sunday's race, inevitably sent him back to that cruel starting point and forced him to reinvent himself once more. The rider who will take to the track this Friday for the opening free practice session is very different from the one who did so exactly a year ago, the result of yet another reconstruction in which he has once again adjusted his priorities.
Marquez's new contract with Ducati represents a considerable improvement in his favour. That is only logical when you consider that, when he signed his previous agreement in June 2024, it was he who prioritised securing a place in the factory team of the Borgo Panigale manufacturer. By 2025, however, he had become the cornerstone of the Bologna-based company, giving him considerable negotiating power, which he duly used. "That said," sources within Ducati tell Autosport, "the renewal was by no means outrageous, nor was it anywhere near the figures that were being discussed in MotoGP a few years ago."
Several months after the Indonesia crash, Marquez returned to the track with renewed vigour. He realised that his priorities had shifted: it was no longer just about winning, but also about enjoying every moment and maintaining his physical health. The trip to Motegi this time is not only about defending his title, but also about proving that he has found peace within himself and is ready to face new challenges with a more mature approach.
Read Also
Ducati dikabarkan telah mencoba berbagai hal 'irasional' untuk mengembalikan performa Pecco Bagnaia di MotoGP 2026. Simak analisis dan komentar mantan crew chief.
Marc Marquez siap hadapi GP Jepang di Motegi dengan misi kejar ketertinggalan 12 poin dari Jorge Martin. Simak strategi dan ambisinya.
Fermin Aldeguer mengungkap kemenangan perdananya di MotoGP Indonesia sebagai ledakan amarah. Simak kisah emosional dan perjalanan kariernya.
Continue with Google
Discussion (0)
Join the Discussion!
Sign in easily to start commenting, replying, and interacting with other readers.
Latest Comments
No comments yet. Be the first!