Marc Márquez tells us how he felt during his first World Championship victory

Marc: “The technician told me that in this race my bike would fly!”

“I was nervous because it wasn’t one of my favourite circuits and winning wasn’t going to be easy”. Indeed, the conditions didn’t lend to an easy victory. His opponents would complicate things, but Marc was especially motivated that day: “I felt good that Sunday and I was able to succeed”.

Starting in sixth position on the grid, the rider from Cervera quickly moved into third position, where a battle for victory began between four daring riders. Nico Terol was in the lead, closely followed by Pol Esparagaró, who was keeping up the fight while they put distance between themselves and the rest of the riders. Nevertheless, this neck and neck battle reached its end when they were joined by Marc Márquez and Bradley Smith, creating a group of four.

The positions were quickly reversed when the two new challengers at the head of the race came into first and second position. Márquez and Bradley Smith pulled away and stood out at the end of the race.

The Repsol rider tried everything to find the weak point in the Brit’s race. The two pilots pushed their engines to the limit in one of the longest straights of the championship: “In this circuit, the engine is very important. The technician told me that in this race my bike would fly!”

The outcome

In the last lap, Marquéz gained the first position and Bradley fell back to fourth place when he was overtaken by Terol and Espargaró. The rider from Cervera stayed in the lead for the rest of the race, crossing the finish line only 39 milliseconds before Terol.

The Repsol rider finally earned his first world victory during a season in which he won the 125 cc World Championship. He dedicated his first steps on the podium to “the team, my brother, my family… They were the first ones I hugged.” The rider from Lérida was received with full honours in his native Cervera, making the memory even more unforgettable if possible: “They gave me a really great welcome in the village. It was only a victory, but it meant a lot to them!”

Against all odds, Mugello became one of the cornerstones of Marc Márquez’s story, a legend that continues to grow today. The Repsol rider is currently competing for his third MotoGP world championship.