Marc Marquez on past MotoGP struggles: “You see no way out, giving up crosses your mind”

Marc Marquez has credited those closest to him - family, friends and crew - for helping avoid “heat of the moment decisions” during the “dark” final phase of his Honda MotoGP career, when “you see no way out and the thought of giving up crosses your mind.”

Instead, the support of his inner circle gave Marquez the confidence to “follow my instincts” and leave Honda, the only MotoGP team he had ever known, to ride a year-old Ducati, for free, at Gresini in 2024.

It was the start of a path that would put Marquez back on top of MotoGP, by winning a long-awaited ninth world title during his debut season with the factory Ducati Lenovo team this year.

“For me, it’s in the tough moments that you see what - and who - is around you,” Marquez reflected during an Estrella Galicia event.

“You realise how important the people in your circle truly are. When you’re winning, like I was from 2010 to 2020, everything is joy, happiness - things just flow.”

Marquez and Honda celebrated six premier class titles in seven years before his arm fracture at Jerez 2020. Subsequent complications, plus eye injuries and Honda’s loss of form, sent Marquez into a downward spiral.

“When problems come, that’s when you truly value the people you have by your side, and without them, it’s impossible,” Marquez continued. “When you’re down, you can’t get out of it alone - someone must lend a hand, give you a push, like everyone around me did.

“They helped me breathe, to avoid making decisions in the heat of the moment, because when you’re in a bad moment, everything looks dark - you see no way out and the thought of giving up crosses your mind.

“But they were the ones who calmed me down, made me see things differently, and motivated me to follow my instincts - and that’s what I did.”

Leaving Honda after eleven seasons meant Marquez was stepping well and truly out of his “comfort zone” and only one mechanic, Javier Ortiz, joined him for the all-or-nothing gamble at Gresini.

“It was very hard to make the decision to leave my comfort zone - the Honda team, the team of my whole life, with my mechanic friends I’d worked with for ten years - but it was either making that move or end my racing career,” he said.

“We made the decision - even though the final choice is always the rider’s - and that step, looking for the best bike and joining a family team like Gresini, gave me the push I needed to go on and win the World Championship.”

Marquez had already secured a future seat at the factory Ducati squad when he broke a 1,043-day MotoGP win drought with Gresini at Aragon in 2024.

Marquez took two more victories to conclude his satellite year third in the world championship, then dominated the 2025 campaign as an official Ducati rider - including a run of 14 consecutive race wins - to secure the title by Motegi.

However, Marquez missed the final four races following shoulder surgery after being taken out by Marco Bezzecchi at Mandalika. The Spaniard is scheduled to return for the start of 2026 testing, at Sepang, on February 3.