MotoGP
Marc Márquez is a five-time MotoGP champion and the youngest rider to have won five premier-class titles. Here's how he got there.
Marc Márquez's rise to the very top has been swift, impressive and unforgiving, and in just six years of premier class motorcycle racing the 25-year-old Spaniard now has five MotoGP titles to his name.
After becoming the youngest rider in the history of MotoGP to win a race in the premier class of the World Championship when he took victory at the Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas, Márquez took the sport by storm with a riding style and attitude rarely seen.
Fast forward six years and the Honda rider claimed his latest championship at the Japanese Grand Prix after closest title challenger Andrea Dovizioso crashed out ending his slim hopes of denying Márquez.
Take a look back at the Spaniard's meteoric rise to the top of the MotoGP world as he joins legendary Australian rider Mick Doohan with five MotoGP titles in the bag...
Pre-2008
Márquez built his early experience in the Catalan and Spanish National Championships, the latter of which has for a long time been the benchmark and breeding ground for the finest talent from around the world. The likes of Casey Stoner, Dani Pedrosa and Stefan Bradl have all competed in it, and after gaining enough of a grounding Márquez debuted in the World Championship 125cc class in 2008.
2008 and 2009: World Championship debut and the learning curve
It didn't take long for Márquez to settle in and in only his sixth race he took a podium finish at the British GP at Donington. At just 15 years and 127 days of age it made him the youngest Spaniard to climb onto a World Championship podium, and by the end of the campaign Márquez had ridden in 13 of the 17 rounds.
2009, Márquez's second season in the 125cc World Championship, got off to a good start with a top-five finish in Japan and then a podium on home soil in Jerez in Round 3. It was followed by pole position at Le Mans, his first, and his raw pace was to be seen throughout the year with some strong qualifying displays. Results were promising too, and a top-eight finish in the final standings was his reward.
2010: The first title
For the 2010 season Márquez joined the factory Derbi team and after he showed blistering pace in pre-season testing was among the favourites to challenge for the title.
What came next was a stunning run of form that really confirmed just how talented the then 17-year-old was. Márquez scored his first victory at the Italian GP, Round 4, and it kickstarted an incredible run of five straight wins as he blasted his way to the top of the standings.
By the time the Championship arrived at the final round in Valencia, Márquez had taken 10 victories and started from pole 11 times. Fourth place in the last race wrapped up the title and he was on his way up to Moto2 as the 125cc World Champion...
2011: Speed and scares
Márquez was immediately fast on the 600cc Moto2 machine as soon as he climbed onto it in pre-season testing, and he qualified on the front row for his first race in the category: Round 1 in Qatar.
However, youthful exuberance got the better of him and he crashed out in Losail, was taken out in the next race in Jerez and then went down again in Portugal. It was a tough introduction to the category for Márquez, but he used the experience well and in the next race won his first Moto2 GP in France. From there the wins snowballed and by the time the Championship arrived at the penultimate round in Malaysia he had seven wins and was fighting for the title with Stefan Bradl.
A crash in practice at Sepang ended the season prematurely though, as Márquez struggled to recover from a vision problem and he missed the race there and in Valencia. The hangover was lengthy and affected his preparations for the 2012 season too, with Márquez later admitting he had begun to fear if he would be able to recover fully...
2012: World Champion
Arriving in Qatar for Round 1 the full extent of Márquez's fitness was uncertain. He dispelled any doubts with victory, and his form for the rest of the season was unmatchable.
There was controversy along the way, with some of his aggressive riding drawing criticism from other riders and even sanctions from the FIM, but with nine wins and a total of 14 podiums from 17 GPs Márquez was a worthy Champion.
It was midway through the season – shortly after Casey Stoner's confirmed retirement from MotoGP at the end of the 2012 campaign – that Márquez was announced as Dani Pedrosa's Repsol Honda team-mate in MotoGP for 2013...
2013: MotoGP debut season (Wins = six)
As he had done in Moto2 Márquez took no time to adapt to a bigger bike, and his form in pre-season testing on the 1000cc Honda had tongues wagging amongst his fellow MotoGP riders.
When the lights went out in Qatar for the opening race of the season he was fearless, and a podium on his debut added to the buzz surrounding a talent which had already been acknowledged as something very special.
Márquez won the next race at the Circuit of the Americas went on to win five more races, claiming his first MotoGP title in the final round of the series, beating Jorge Lorenzo by 34 points and becoming the first rookie since Kenny Roberts in 1978.
2014 (Wins = 13)
In his second season Márquez went above and beyond the hype that had followed his entry into the MotoGP class.
The Spanish rider won the first ten races of the season in an unbroken winning streak lasting from March until September of 2014. Márquez took his second title with Honda a massive 67 points ahead of Valentino Rossi.
2015 (Wins = seven)
In a season full of collisions and clashes between Márquez, Rossi and Lorenzo it wouldn’t be a hat-trick of titles and Márquez would have to settle for third in the standings as controversy and a number of retirements hampered his title charge.
Compatriot Jorge Lorenzo would end up as champion with seven wins to claim his third MotoGP title ahead of Yamaha teammate Rossi.
2016 (Wins = five)
Márquez regained his MotoGP crown with his fifth victory of the season at the Japanese Grand Prix as his fierce title rivals Lorenzo and Rossi both crashed out.
This gave Márquez his third championship title with three races remaining in what was a hard fought season between Yamaha and Honda and the top three riders.
2017 (Wins = six)
Despite a strong start from Andrea Dovizioso on the Ducati, Márquez stamped his authority on the MotoGP championship mid season with a brace of back-to-back wins in Germany and the Czech Republic and would go on to win three more as Dovizioso’s challenge waned.
At the final race of the season in Valencia Dovizioso needed to win and see Márquez finish 11th or lower in order to become champion. When Dovizioso crashed his Ducati on lap 5 Márquez sealed his fourth MotoGP title on home soil in Valencia.
2018: Five-time MotoGP World Champion
Following a podium finish at the opening race in Qatar and a disastrous Argentinian Grand Prix Márquez refocused and nailed his championship intentions to the wall with a hat-trick of wins.
As the season got going, despite a strong showing from both of the Ducati riders Jorge Lorenzo and Andrea Dovizioso, it would be the reliability and consistency of the Honda/Márquez combination that would ensure a nine-race run of either winning or finishing on the podium.
Later in the year the brave Ducati challenge was taken up by Dovizioso, as teammate Lorenzo’s mid season charge faltered and ended in injury, but by the Japanese Grand Prix at the Motegi Twin Ring it was all but a formality that Márquez would become a five-time MotoGP champion.
Dovizioso needed to win in Japan to have any chance of winning his first MotoGP crown, but In the race Márquez executed a typically measured ride and Dovizioso crashed out with two laps remaining, handing the 2018 MotoGP title to Marc Márquez.
With three races remaining in the 2018 MotoGP calendar the 25-year-old Spaniard is the youngest rider in the history of the sport to win seven World Championships and is also the youngest rider to have won five premier-class titles.
