Alongside the official press conferences broadcast worldwide by the website MotoGP.com, like the one at the end of the German Grand Prix on the Sachsenring circuit which brought together Marc Marquez, Ai Ogura et Raul fernandezThe pilots then often meet with journalists from their country for a debriefing session where the comments are sometimes less formal, more personal…
As the summer break approached, we thought it might be interesting to postpone those of Marc Marquez in Spanish, which is now considered a favorite for the championship, after a meteoric rise.
As usualWe reproduce his words here in their entirety without any formatting, even though they are translated from Spanish. MotoGP Germany Marc Marquez MotoGP Germany Marc Marquez
🎤 Congratulations Marc Marquez! Once again, "Mr. 37 points" in Germany. This was the weekend where you absolutely had to succeed, and you did. Personally, I think it's almost more important to have delivered when it mattered than the victory itself.
Marc Marquez: “Yes, and I didn’t hide it on Thursday. I said that if I wanted to keep the slightest chance of fighting for the championship, I had to be ready here.”
There will be circuits where we will have to suffer, as was the case in Assen, but here, we had to be ready.
If you still wanted to hope for anything in this championship, you had to do the work.
And we did it perfectly, with a very good grade… even a perfect score, I would say.
🎤 After Italy, just four races ago, you were 102 points behind the leader. Today, you're only 18 points behind, and you've even gained four points on Bezzecchi, who was leading. Perhaps those who still believed in Marc Márquez's title hopes weren't so crazy after all…
“Yes… the truth is, we are fully back in the game.
I wouldn't say yet that we're in the thick of the title fight, because the comeback isn't over: I'm still 18 points behind.
We must continue to work with the same intensity. There are still 11 Grand Prix races left.
We've seen everything that happened during the first eleven races… and a lot can still happen in the next eleven.
🎤 Tell us about your race…
"I'm happy because I managed it exactly the way I wanted. I even almost fell... well, don't jinx it for me now! (laughs)"
We controlled the race as we had planned.
I had a brief moment of doubt with the front tire. I started to feel some unusual movements, and since we had seen many crashes related to the front tire, I preferred to slow down a bit to understand what was happening.
Then, during our second acceleration, we were able to widen the gap.
I would have been absolutely delighted if Álex had been on that podium. He truly deserved it. He was riding incredibly fast despite a difficult weekend.
After seeing all the work he's put in since his crash in Catalonia, I sincerely believe he deserved that podium finish. But he already got a taste of the podium yesterday in the Sprint, and I'm convinced he'll be back on the podium at a Grand Prix on Sunday very soon.
🎤 We had the impression that you were following a perfectly defined plan. In the last four Grands Prix, you scored 119 points out of a possible 148. Do you feel that you have now passed the most difficult part of your season?
"I always had a plan... But not this time."
Because a plan can only be executed when it depends on you, and this comeback didn't depend solely on me.
I could do all the calculations possible: even if I won every race, if the leader finished second every time, he would still beat me.
So it no longer depended solely on me.
🎤 But it was impossible for him to finish second in every race…
"Exactly. And it was just as impossible for me to win all the races."
🎤 Was it ultimately more realistic than the opposite scenario?
"No. When a plan isn't in your hands, you can't really control it. So I just give my best when the moment demands it."
If I am in this position today, it is also because my opponents have made mistakes.
Of course, I rode very well, I won races… But I didn’t do anything extraordinary.
I simply did my job very well.
🎤 Many people thought this was all part of your strategy. On Thursday, we were talking about Rafael Nadal, Messi… and today, we're seeing a similar trajectory…
“I would never compare myself to names of that caliber. However, I try to draw inspiration from them. Rafael Nadal has always been one of my role models.”
I haven't actually watched his documentary yet. I'll do it when the season is over. I really want to, but for now I'm not mentally ready to watch it, because I know it deals with a lot of suffering.
However, I did see a few excerpts. I can't remember if it was in the documentary or during an interview, but Nadal said something that struck me: "When you're going through a rough patch, your 100% remains your 100% at that moment. Some days it will be higher, others lower, but you must always strive to give that maximum."
That's exactly what I try to do every day, to find my own 100%.
And above all, respect rest days. Before, I never did and it wasn't a problem. Now, I have to. I can no longer do several intense weight training sessions in a row.
I need to pace myself, because that's how I improve.
🎤 In this documentary, Nadal also explains that after losing a point, he immediately approaches the next one as if it were the first, without dwelling on the one he just lost…
“Yes. There are athletes who don’t know how to function at 50%, and I’m one of them.”
With experience, I've gradually learned to manage it better. But when you truly give 100%, when your opponent pushes you to your limits, you manage to bring out things you yourself didn't even suspect you were capable of.
It is precisely in these moments of high pressure that one must know how to maintain control.
Ten MotoGP victories at the Sachsenring… That’s something very special.
We greatly appreciated each of these victories and I hope to add more.
🎤 Any predictions for Spain – France?
"Spain! It will be difficult, but Spain will win. I'd bet my foot on it... not my hand, but a foot!"
(Laughter)
🎤 And the final?
"We have to believe in it, right? They always say we have to believe! So let's believe in it."
More seriously, it will be a complicated, very close match. But I think the team we have can compensate for the talent of our opponent.
🎤 And for the World Cup final: England or Argentina?
“Argentina…Argentina, Argentina!” Boludo! » (laughs)
MotoGP Germany debriefing Marc Marquez MotoGP Germany debriefing Marc Marquez MotoGP Germany debriefing Marc Marquez