Marc Márquez is undoubtedly the current phenomenon of MotoGP. This year, he had his best career season with intimidating statistics and a humiliating record for his opponents. As the apogee of a journey that began in 2013 in the category, and dotted with world titles, except in 2015. But the one who follows him most closely, his mechanic Santi Hernandez, warns that the margin for progression of the official Honda is infinite, so much so that the reign of the Cervera phenomenon is not about to weaken...
Santi Hernández is the chief engineer of Marc Márquez in MotoGP. In the Honda stand, he is in the front row to experience a journey so exceptional that he is writing history. But then it will stop Marc Marquez ? He asks himself this very question! Marc Márquez statistically established in 2019 one of the best seasons of his long and impressive career in the World Championship. This sixth MotoGP title and his eighth outright is also one of all records.
Thus, over the 19 races of the past MotoGP season, the eldest Márquez won twelve, including five consecutively. He finished second in six other races. His only retirement was regretted in Austin, while he was in the lead.
With 420 points scored, the teammate of a Lorenzo whom he retired like his previous Pedrosa exceeded the previous Por Fuera harvest in 2010 which was 383 units. The advantage of Márquez on Andrea Dovizioso, his runner-up overall, is 151 points. Never before has such a lead been seen in the premier category of the Motorcycle World Championship.
In the eyes of the team leader Santi Hernández, the 2019 season was the best of his colt's career, even if in 2014, ten consecutive races were won, bringing the total to 13 victories in 18 races. But this year, the regularity of Marc Márquez made the difference. “ Yes, we won the first ten races in a row and 13 in total in 2014. However, back then the differences between each manufacturer's bikes were greater than they are today ", said Hernandez in an interview with Motorsport-Total.com.
« At that time » continues the team leader of Márquez, who are " each manufacturer used its own electronics because the single unit did not yet exist. Everything is much more balanced now. Ducati is still strong, Yamaha is coming back and Suzuki has improved ". In fact, one observation stands out: “ if the technical differences are less important, Marc is capable of making the difference with his talent ", congratulates himself Hernández who adds: “ There is no doubt that Marc is better today than he was in 2014. He is also fast but he has much more experience. »
An experience which asserts itself a little more each time as the number of its falls decreases. During the 2018 season, he fell 23 times and in 2017 on 27 occasions. In 2019 he only ended up on the ground 14 times. 13 of these accidents occurred during practice or qualifying sessions, such as the brutal highside in Buriram, where, according to Alpinestars data analysis, he hit the tarmac with a weight equivalent to more than 1,5, XNUMX ton…
His only accident in 2019 in a race, Márquez recorded just in Austin, where he had already won six times in a row. But he learned from this experience: “ its learning curve is simply impressive ", said Hernández : “ in the first two years from 2013 to 2014 everything was easy for him because he was extremely young, he rode without pressure and the bike helped him to win against other riders. »
In 2015, in his third MotoGP season, Márquez was beaten for the only time in a world championship fight in the premier class. Despite five victories, he regretted 88 points behind the world champion Lorenzo, and he only finished the season third overall. The reason ? Of the 13 falls of Márquez, six had taken place in the races. “ Victory or fall, that sums up this year pretty well " remember Hernández, remembering how his protégé “ realized after the 2015 season that he needed to change his mentality ". He then said to himself: “ for a championship, I have to settle for a third, or even a fifth place in the race. »
In fact, in 2016, when he won his third MotoGP title, Márquez s’est classé à dix des 18 courses aux places deux, trois, quatre ou cinq. Et bien qu’il n’ait remporté “que” cinq courses, comme en 2015, Márquez became world champion at the end of the season, 49 points ahead of Valentino Rossi. In 2017 and 2018, the Honda star took two more titles against Dovizioso, before dominating the 2019 season.
Among the best world champions of all time, Márquez is in the top category. With six world titles in the premier category, he is already third, just behind Giacomo Agostini (eight titles) and Red (seven titles). Over his entire career, he has eight crowns, which puts him sixth behind Agostini (15 titles), Angel Nieto (13), Rossi, Mike Hailwood and Carlo Ubbiali (nine each). “ And he's still learning », warns the team leader Hernandez, which ends: “ I really don't know where the limit is. »
