MotoGP champion Marquez gives exclusive interview to 'After the Flag'
The MotoGP World Champion Marc Marquez has spoken exclusively to "After the Flag" about how it felt to retain the premier class title this year with three races left.
On making history as the youngest ever rider to win back-to-back MotoGP World Championship titles by retaining the crown this year - on home ground for Honda in Japan - Marquez was asked to compare the feelings of his 2013 and 2014 triumphs.
He told Dylan Gray, “It is always difficult to say exactly what you feel. In Valencia last year I was already starting to think about it because the race was quieter, but this year in Japan I was pushing 100 percent until the last lap because Valentino was really close and Dani was coming. When I first crossed the line the reaction was like, nothing, nothing, then I didn’t brake and I nearly went straight into the gravel! Then the feeling comes and it is difficult to explain, it’s like a dream, you feel really happy that you have achieved it.”
“This year it was more difficult to manage the pressure. Last year everything was ok. If I crashed it was ok, people said ‘it’s his first year he needs to learn’. But this year it was like, you must do it. Already in preseason the target was the title. The pressure was difficult to manage. People can say ‘it’s easy because he won the first ten races in a row’, but it was not like that.”
Amongst other topics Marquez also spoke openly about the importance of having his family and a tight crew around him at Grands Prix, plus explored the possibility of racing against his brother Alex in the future in MotoGP.
He also revealed how he copes with the pressure and fame of being the MotoGP World Champion and also evaluated the dueling skills of his rivals Valentino Rossi, Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa.