Marc Marquez has given a detailed description of his road back from near-retirement to the factory Ducati seat.
Next season he will step up from Gresini onto MotoGP’s most coveted machine, alongside current champion Francesco Bagnaia.
Bagnaia is a Ducati stalwart and their star man who must overcome a 24-point deficit to Jorge Martin at this season’s finale in Barcelona to retain his title.
Marquez earned the promotion to the factory team after refusing a switch to Pramac, despite them being able to also offer a latest-spec Desmosedici.
“I wanted to win, and if I want to win then I need the correct bike, just to have a chance,” Marquez told TNT Sports.
“Then, of course, you need to have the b*lls to do it!
“I will be fighting a teammate who is a world champion and has been riding a Ducati for six years.
“He knows all the secrets of the bike.
“But you need to try. I don’t want to retire in the future thinking ‘maybe…’
Marquez has rediscovered his spark this season, since quitting Honda and moving to Gresini Ducati.
He left behind a lucrative salary at Honda - but also left behind a poor bike which was causing him to crash, and further his extensive list of injuries.
“When you smile a lot, it becomes usual and normal,” he said.
“You forget the difficult moments.
“But when you’re in a difficult moment, you put more value into what a good moment means.
“From one day to the other, I was living my best days. But then my nightmare started.
“Now, I smile again. It’s even more important than world championships.”
He said about his injuries, most notable at Jerez in 2020 where his arm problems severely worsened: “On the mental side, it was one of the most difficult things.
“When you get injured, the first and second years are no problem.
“But when you are struggling, you go to the doctor who says ‘your rehabilitation is done’ but you still don’t feel well?
“Then the question marks in your mind start. You have doubts in yourself.
“This is the hardest moment.”
Marquez won in Aragon this year, his first Ducati victory, and his first in three years overall.
“The feeling was incredible. I had waited a long time,” he said.
“In 2014 I won 10 races in a row but now? Just one after two years! So the value changes.
“Before my accident, winning was normal. It was not special. To be second was to lose.
“But winning is not normal because only one rider can win.
“It has changed my perception on sport and racing.”
That victory, and his ability to stick at the battle for the championship until recently, has vindicated what Marquez calls ‘his plan’.
He said: “My plan is already done.
“When I arrived at Gresini, I had a plan.
“The priority was to understand if I could be competitive again.
“The plan was to have a chance to be in a factory team. The best team, on the best bike. That was Ducati Lenovo.
“But I needed to show speed because your value is your last race, not what you have achieved in the past.”
