Interview with 2013 MotoGP Champion Marc Marquez: "I learned so much riding alongside Dani, Jorge and Valentino"

Marc Marquez (MotoGP World Champion) of Spain and Repsol Honda Team poses with the trophy of MotoGP World Champion during the event ’2013 FIM Awards Ceremony’ at Fira de Valencia.

Only a few riders get to taste the winning champagne in their debut MotoGP season. Fewer end up making a habit of it. The year 2013 will surely be remembered for Marc Marquez‘s barnstorming performance that made him the youngest ever world champion. The man with an infectious smile on his face rode his way to breaking almost every single rookie record there was in the Premier Class, to cap one of the most assured debut season runs in the history of the sport. Nothing ever looked out of reach when the Spaniard was out on the circuit. Already rated to be the next big hope of the sport and the rightful heir to Valentino Rossi‘s legacy, the Spaniard has a lot expectations to live up to in the near future.

Right now, however, the Repsol Honda Team’s starlet could use some rest after what was a momentous year for him. Sportskeeda recently caught up with Marquez as he reflected on his life and times on and off the circuit.

Here are a few excerpts from the conversation:

First of all congratulations on being the youngest MotoGP world champion. How does it feel?

Honestly, I still feel like I’m in a dream! We’ve had many celebrations and it’s starting to sink in now, but sometimes it still doesn’t feel real.

You recently had a surgery to help you breathing. We hope it was successful. How are you feeling now?

I’m still in recovery but I feel fine. Hopefully it will help me more in the future so it was a good thing to do and especially at this time.

You already have a plethora of records, some of which, of course, you can’t repeat. Was there any sort of target to achieve these records?

Not at all. We didn’t set out this season with any targets apart from learning. We, as a team, wanted to learn as much a possible to prepare ourselves for 2014 and beyond. However, we really felt so good from the beginning and Honda helped us a lot. By Sachsenring I really felt good on the bike and it was the first time I felt the bike wasn’t leading me.

At the start of the season, what was the target in terms of which place you wanted to achieve in the standings?

We didn’t have a target for that. Like I said, we were just treating this year – our first season – as a learning year but it went so much better than that!

Marc Marquez – The first rider to win Intermediate Class and Premier Class titles back to back.

I think after the 4 wins in a row we began to think about it, but there was still a long way to go and Dani and Jorge we’re coming back from their injury and we knew they would be so strong.

Valentino Rossi, after final day of testing at Sepang, said you had a “particular, strange riding style” while he and Jorge had a more classic style. Can you please elaborate on this?

I’m not sure, maybe ask him!

This season has seen a lot of crashes from riders. Trying to brake late, maintaining speed, balance and position can be tricky. How difficult is it to get all the factors right while simultaneously trying to overtake the rider in front?

It was very hard at the beginning but I learned so much riding alongside Dani, Jorge and Valentino. I saw how they rode the bike and attacked tracks differently to how I did in Moto2 and learned from this.

You had a black flag during the race at Phillip Island, having stayed out till lap 11 instead of pitting during lap 9 or 10. How did the error happen? Was there a miscommunication between all parties concerned?

You know sometimes I can make a mistake and crash, and sometimes the team can make a mistake. It was a team error and the important thing is we moved on. We win together and we make mistakes together, always as a team.

Now let’s keep the racing away for sometime. Tell us what is your favourite pastime away from the circuit?

Honestly, I love being at the circuit with all my team – they are like my family. When we’re not at a race track I spend a lot of time with my brother, training and riding motocross.

Have you ever visited India? If not, then do you have any plans of visiting any time soon?

No but it’s somewhere I’d like to visit in the future. We travel all over the world but unfortunately we never get proper time to see places.

This may sound a little weird, but we Indians are obsessed with mileage. So for our Indian audience, can you let us know how much mileage does a MotoGP bike give?

Haha, I’m not sure… you’d have to check with Honda!