Marc Marquez: “I’ve done more than I expected” after 100th grand prix win

Marc Marquez became only the third rider in history to reach 100 grand prix wins with victory in Sunday’s Hungarian MotoGP at Balaton Park.

Only Giacomo Agostini (122) and Valentino Rossi (115) now stand ahead of Marquez in the record books.

“There’s been a lot of ups and downs in my career, especially from 2020, but 100 wins is a big number,” Marquez reflected.

“I’m there, between, or close to, big names - legends. So, in my career, I’ve done more than I expected.”

Marquez had to wait until his third 125cc season to claim a maiden grand prix win but finished the year with ten victories and the 2010 world title to his name.

One of Marquez's most memorable victories before MotoGP came in his final Moto2 race at Valencia in 2012, which he started from 33rd and last on the grid after a penalty.

Marquez stormed to eleventh by the end of the opening lap, then took the lead with three laps to go.

On Sunday in Hungary, Marquez classed that Valencia victory as the best of his non-MotoGP triumphs:

“I will say Austin 2013, then I would say Valencia 2012 starting from last, and Thailand 2025,” Marquez said of his top three most valuable victories.

Thailand 2025 saw Marquez's winning debut for the factory Ducati team, while Austin 2013 delivered the first of his 74 premier-class victories.

“The first one in MotoGP, in Austin, was a big shock - to win in only my second MotoGP race,” he said.

“Yesterday was 16 years from my first victory in world championship, but MotoGP is MotoGP. Fight against Pedrosa, Lorenzo, and Valentino was super nice.”

The reigning MotoGP champion also placed his Hungarian triumph among the five most important wins of his career.

The victory ended a 266-day wait since shoulder injuries suffered at Mandalika last season and subsequent surgery to relieve a compressed radial nerve.

“I’m happy, of course, to come back again to victory. I hope that it will be my last [injury] comeback!” he said. “But I know and I understand that this comeback is not finished yet.

“Today we won but it’s a circuit that helped me a lot on the left corners.

“My physical condition was a bit more weak and I was struggling more. I just believed and we did it. We did it again.

“Coming back to win again after the last injury in Indonesia was something that was hard on the physical side but more hard on the mental side.”

Marquez’s double victory at Balaton Park also moved him to fifth place in the world championship standings.