Marc Márquez He is going to compete this weekend in Cheste for his most special Grand Prix. After eleven seasons in the Repsol Honda, the Cervera rider closes this stage to face new challenges with Gresini and Ducati. And although his farewell is bitter after one of his worst seasons in MotoGP, with a record of crashes and far from the first places, the 93 wanted to show his gratitude to what has been the brand of his life, with which he has achieved six titles in the premier class since 2013.
For this reason, he presented this Thursday, on the eve of the Valencian Community GP, the helmet that he will wear to say goodbye to Honda and to what has been his team in the box, captained by Santi Hernandez, those he will leave behind on his new course. “The last one of the season, I present to you this helmet inspired by the word 感謝 Kansha, a Japanese expression deeper and closer than arigato (thank you). With all my heart,” Marc wrote on his social networks, accompanying the images of the helmet and of his successes with Honda.
A trip turned into almost a lifetime. ❤️
Well yes… the last of the season, I present to you this helmet inspired by the word 感謝 “Kansha”, a Japanese expression deeper and closer than “arigato” (thank you). From all my heart.
I hope you like it. ☺️
___A journey that… pic.twitter.com/OI04O6dHTk
— Marc Márquez (@marcmarquez93) November 23, 2023
“We have finally reached the end of the year. It has been a year full of ups and downs, emotions and difficult decisions. Now we arrive in Valencia wanting to finish the season in the best possible way, it is a circuit that I like and where I have good memories. Together with the Repsol Honda Team we have made an incredible history in the last 11 years, The good times and the bad times have helped me become who I am. and this weekend will be to celebrate what we have done and enjoy our time together,” highlights the man himself. Marquez in an official statement.
The eight-time champion wanted to close his cycle at Repsol Honda in a sincere interview that was released this Thursday by what is still his team and which we reproduce below:
You are going to compete in your last Grand Prix with the Repsol Honda team, how are you facing it?
“We are Wednesday before the Valencia Grand Prix, the last Grand Prix of the year. Obviously now the stands are empty with a tranquility that will not be there later, because during the weekend there is a lot of normal hustle and bustle. Being the last Grand Prix of the year it is always special, but this one is different. I don’t like to say that it is my last Grand Prix with Honda, because you never know in the future. But it will be the end of a stage with the Repsol Honda Team where we have achieved many successes and it will be a weekend of many emotions.”
How have you worked mentally over the weekend?
“It is always very difficult to work on how to face a Grand Prix, and even more so when it comes to emotions. There will surely be unforgettable moments in this Valencia Grand Prix, since I want to do my best on the track and to do so I need to be 100% focused.”
What is the Repsol Honda team for you?
“The Repsol Honda Team has been and always will be the team of my sporting career and my life. I have been with them for 11 years, where we have won 6 world titles, I am not going to achieve it with another team. I am 30 years old and the sporting career of any athlete or driver, in this case, lasts as long as it lasts and it will be the team with which I have achieved the most success on a personal and collective level.”
Do you recognize the motorcycle behind you? What memories does it bring back to you?
“This is where it all started. It was my debut and it was a dream debut: first year and winning. For me it was the most fun year because there was zero pressure, everything counted and everything turned out well. I had the opportunity to join the team where my idols had raced, in addition to sharing the box with one of my idols who was, and is, Dani Pedrosa. From there began these 11 years that, if you value it carefully, have been successful.”
What is the difference between the 2013 and 2023 Marc?
“We have learned more from the difficult moments and the blows we have received during all these years, but we have also enjoyed and danced a lot of the good moments. You cannot compare a 20-year-old kid with a 30-year-old “little man,” with all his ideas clearer and more mature. I have learned many things and the decision I have made now at 30 years old would have been incapable of making at 20, 22, 23, 24 or 25 years old because he was not mature enough to do it.
What hasn’t changed about you in these years?
“The character, the smile and, above all, the ambition have not changed, which remains the same as when I started. I am here to try to be the best on the track and to do this you have to try to find the best solution. There are many times that it is difficult, but I would not sleep peacefully if I left tomorrow with doubts or with “what if I had done this or that?” At all times I am a driver who, both on and off the track, does what he feels and what I think is necessary to try to fight for the leading places.”
Throughout all these years with Repsol, could you say a moment that you would stick with?
“With Repsol there are many moments and above all the circuit moments stick out the most to me. many details, I remember when they put me on their plane… we have done many events. The Sunday dinners in Valencia once the season was over, they had very fun parties, they are moments that I will never forget. Since I have been there for so many years I have seen many people pass through Repsol, different teams such as communication and sponsorship, they have always performed ten times and I have felt very well treated, I feel privileged.”
Do you think that having the support of a brand like this has helped you in terms of recognition in Spain?
“The entire paddock wants to be a Repsol Honda team rider and wants to be with Repsol because it is the sponsor with the longest history in MotoGP, which has been linked to motorcycling and competition for the longest time… And, obviously, you are the envy of the paddock. “Everyone would like to have a Repsol-painted motorcycle and be everywhere.”
When you are alone and think about who you are, what you have achieved and what you mean to this sport, what comes to mind? What do you feel?
“You value all the people who are supporting you very much, not only in the good times, but also in the bad ones and for me it doesn’t make sense to go around the circuit alone, for me the competition makes sense, creating emotions for people, seeing a full paddock, a little girl or boy coming and starting to cry or standing still, these are reactions that you create in people that I would never have imagined. As a child you imagine the life of a pilot, but you don’t imagine the life of a star.”
How was that debut with drivers like Lorenzo, Rossi and Pedrosa on the track?
“The first race in Qatar, when I was able to go behind Pedrosa and Valentino. It was incredible to see Pedrosa’s name, Rossi’s name and Lorenzo’s name when you’re riding and it’s the one in front of you… you’re in Moto3, then in Moto2, but they’re things you’re not realistic about. Then, when you get there and see it, you realize that they are big words.”
What race do you remember winning with the most ease?
“There are many that I didn’t win by being the fastest, I won by being the smartest or by managing the race in another way. I won some of Montmeló not by being the fastest but by managing the race in the best way, and many others, I won in Holland, which is a circuit that I am not good at, but I have won many times. “They stick with you, but there have been so many… that it’s good that you forget.”
And which was the most suffered?
“The most suffered? I think 2013 here in Valencia. It wasn’t the most painful, but it was the longest, by far because he had to come fourth if Lorenzo won the race. And it was very long because when you go to the limit you are super concentrated and you miss the fast laps, but when you go with doubts, you don’t go to the limit, you can’t fall, you think more things… the race seemed eternal, but it gave me the title in 2013.”
We are in turn 1 of Valencia, doesn’t it remind you of something?
“In this corner in the 2017 World Championship, Turn 1 in Valencia was where I made the legendary left save, one of the best saves I have ever had. That save was nonconformity, I was so calm in the race that I tried to lead and escape to create that tension and refocus on the race and, in one of those, I almost fell.”
What are you going to miss most about your experience with Repsol?
“What will I miss about Repsol Honda? I will miss everything, from the entrance to the box, to the colors, the people, the bike… I haven’t done anything else. Since I joined in 2013 I have been with the same people, the same colors, the same box, with everything the same… the question is what I won’t miss.”
What message do you send to the fans who follow you and who wear the same colors?
“I think that many Repsol Honda fans will continue to support 93 as well, because as I said in my post when it was announced and I still believe it: we are separated, but always united, in some way we are united. It will be the team, whatever I do, and no matter how I go in my new stage, this will be the team of my life, of my sporting career and for which I will be remembered.”
2023-11-23 18:42:41
#Marc #Márquezs #dance #Honda
