Newly crowned MotoGP world champion Marc Marquez reckons that learning off fellow riders and sportspeople will be crucial to sustaining success in the premier class of motorcycle racing.
The Honda man lifted his sixth premier class title-and eighth across all classes-after winning the Thailand Grand Prix last weekend as he continues his domination of MotoGP, having only missed out on the championship once since making his debut with HRC in 2013.
With Ducati and Andrea Dovizioso’s challenge for supremacy cooling over the last couple of seasons, a somewhat surprising threat in Petronas SRT rookie Fabio Quartararo has proven to be the most consistent thorn in his side.
Comparisons have been drawn between the Frenchman and ex-Yamaha man Jorge Lorenzo – the only man to have denied Marquez after he secured the ’15 title with Yamaha – particularly in relation to their strikingly similar riding styles on the M1.
Marquez welcomes the threat from his contemporaries, and admitted he continuously strives to learn from them and "reinvent" himself to make sure his run of form continues.
“The closer, the better,” said Marquez. “We are in an era in MotoGP in which the mechanical equality, although the final numbers of the championship do not reflect it, is one of the best it has been.
“I say this because there are four factories capable of winning races and fighting for a World Championship.
“This means that there are at least eight bikes with chances of winning races, and it is something that did not happen before.
“You have to know how to reinvent yourself, learn from veterans like Valentino [Rossi], Jorge [Lorenzo] or Dovi [Andrea Dovizioso] and also from young riders, like Fabio [Quartararo] or [Maverick] Viñales.”
Marquez revealed that he learns not only from his fellow riders, but also takes inspiration sportspeople further afield-naming two-time Wimbledon champion Rafa Nadal and football legend Lionel Messi as his main sources for improvement.
“It has been a very good year and it will be difficult to improve," explained Marquez.
“But one of my idols is Rafa Nadal and, when you see him in a match and wonder what he can do better, he always takes a new step forward.
“Or when Lionel Messi scores a goal, you think again that he can’t do better and then he goes and scores another which is better.
“I try to model myself on them; they are always improving. I will try to learn from mistakes. Rivals show you your level and that is where we will try to continue growing.”
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