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Nothing is impossible and Marquez discovered that in the best possible way at Motegi, a track where he had never won in MotoGP and, in any case, a win would not have been enough because he would have needed a disaster from the Yamaha duo. In the 7 years that they have shared a garage, Rossi and Lorenzo had never both crashed in the same race, until today.
Marquez rode to perfection and fate did the rest: at 23 years of age, he has already won 5 world titles and no one had ever managed this feat until now. The little devil’s perfect day was a rollercoaster of emotions, a blender of happiness that Marc tried to translate into words.
How do you feel?
“It is an extraordinary emotion. When I woke up this morning, everything was business as usual. I had breakfast at the same time and went to the bathroom at the same time (he laughs). Quite simply, I did not think it would be possible to win the title here.”
You did not even talk about it amongst yourselves?
“My brother told me that if something happened we would meet on turn 3, but once I crossed the finish line I didn’t even know if there would be any celebratory T-shirts ready, but the guys on the team believed in me.”
Do you have any ideas to celebrate?
“It all happened too quickly, but the best celebrations are the ones that you don’t expect. We’ll start in the garage and then we’ll see when to stop (he laughs).”
Have you already thought about a dedication for this win?
“My grandmother, who passed away this year. She would have been very happy today.”
What kind of race was it?
“On the grid, Santi (editor’s note: Hernandez, his crew chief) told me to be calm, but I felt fine. I made a good start, which never happens for me, and then a battle with Valentino began. He overtook me in a strange way, he seemed nervous, and I realised that it wasn’t my battle. I decided to push and get away.”
Then Rossi fell…
“When they told me, I just thought about winning the race. In any case, I think that Valentino had the right strategy. He had to make a go.”
Then Lorenzo fell too…
“At that moment I completely lost my mind. I didn’t even know where I was. I went into a first gear corner in third and into a fourth gear corner in fifth. Then I calmed down, otherwise Dovizioso would have caught me.”
You won the Championship Title with three races left to go. Did you expect it?
“To be honest, the winter tests were the worst of my career. I had gone to the Honda engineers and told them, ‘I’ll change my mentality in the first part of the year, but I need you.’ They listened and the bike improved a lot.”
Was that enough?
“This year I truly discovered what pressure is. Before that, I had never experienced that feeling. Last year I had made a lot of mistakes and the finale was hard. However, that gave me extra motivation and I stayed focused on the bike and on the team. The guys on the team said that I was different, but they helped me a lot. Being with them and eating together helped me to manage the situation.”
You succeeded.
“This is a very important championship. You are a true champion when you succeed in handling the pressure. I forgot about all the other riders. It would have been easy to get caught up in the confusion.”
Are we looking at a new Marquez?
“Last year I learned an important lesson and I did so at a high price. I realised that I had to stay calm and push only when I had the chance to do so.”
Is that how you began the season?
“After the wins in Argentina and Austin, I found myself leading the championship and I tried to manage the situation, but at Le Mans I made a mistake and that was the worst moment of the season. However, I stayed calm.”
You also went a long time without winning…
“After Germany I couldn’t manage to win again and I began to get nervous. Alzamora told me to stay calm and we began looking at the calendar to see where to attack. Aragón was the right place, and that is what we did.”
When did the Honda truly improve?
“After the Brno tests, when they brought the larger winglets. From that moment on, everything seemed to go better.”
Did the Michelins create some problems for you at the beginning?
“I began to understand them well after the Barcelona GP. In that race, for the first time, I was close to Valentino and I learned a lot of things looking at them. From that point on, I began to use them differently.”
There are three races left until the end of the year now. What can we expect from you?
“Now that the title is won, I think you’ll see the old Marquez again (he laughs).”
