Marc Marquez
Nine-time world champion, seven in MotoGP, and the first to win a premier-class title with his brother as runner-up.
Marc Márquez Alentà (born 17 February 1993) is a Spanish Grand Prix motorcycle road racer who races for the Ducati Lenovo Team in MotoGP. He previously raced for Honda's factory team from 2013 to 2023, and for the Ducati satellite team Gresini Racing in 2024. Widely considered one of the greatest motorcycle racers of all time, he has won nine Grand Prix World Championships, including seven in the MotoGP class (2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2025).
Quick Facts
- Nationality
- Spanish (Catalonia)
- Racing number
- 93
- World championships
- 6 (125cc 2010, Moto2 2012, MotoGP 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018)
- Primary factory team
- Repsol Honda (2013–2023)
- Hometown
- Cervera
- Lleida
- Catalonia
- Signature nickname
- The Baby Alien
- Distinguishing record
- Youngest Grand Prix winner in the history of the FIM Road Racing World Championship
Lore & Background
As a teenager, Márquez won the 125cc World Championship in 2010, and the Moto2 World Championship in 2012. He moved into the MotoGP class in 2013 to ride for Repsol Honda. He won the title in his rookie season, becoming the first rider since Kenny Roberts in 1978 to do so, and the youngest to win it overall, at 20 years and 266 days. He received the Laureus World Sports Award for Breakthrough of the Year. In 2014 Márquez defended his title dominantly, winning the first ten races of the season back-to-back. He was ruled out of championship contention early in 2015 due to several crashes, with the season overshadowed by his tumultuous feud with Valentino Rossi. In 2016, aged 23, Márquez equalled the all-time Grand Prix record for pole positions. He secured a further four consecutive championships in 2016, 2017, 2018, and a particularly dominant 2019. He was the youngest rider to win his seventh and eighth Grand Prix championships. At the delayed 2020 season-opener in Jerez, Márquez crashed and broke his right humerus. A premature attempt to return to competition further damaged his arm, and he sat out the rest of the season due to three surgeries. The injury continued to plague Márquez in 2021. Despite winning races in Germany, Austin, and Misano, he finished the season seventh. Márquez underwent a more successful fourth surgery on his arm at the Mayo Clinic in 2022. Struggling with an increasingly adrift RC213V, Márquez severed his contract with Honda in 2023 and joined the satellite Gresini Ducati team for 2024. After a 1,043 day drought, Márquez won three races. He finished the championship in third place and negotiated a two-year factory Ducati contract. In 2025, Márquez dominated the championship on the factory bike. His six-year drought between titles was the longest in history, and at 32 he became the oldest world champion in the four-stroke era. His younger brother Álex Márquez was runner-up, making them the first siblings to place first and second in the premier class. One race after securing the title, Márquez suffered another injury which forced him to sit out for the rest of the season, and resulted in further surgeries in 2025 and 2026.
Reader's Guide
Márquez was born to parents Roser Alentà and Julià Márquez on 17 February 1993 in Cervera, Catalonia. Márquez received his first dirt bike, a Yamaha PW50, at age four, and quickly took to competitive motocross racing. He finished runner-up in the Catalan junior motocross championship in 2000, and won it in 2001. That year, he also began road racing, which soon became his full-time discipline. In 2003, Márquez raced in the Open RACC 50cc series, and won the title at his first attempt. In 2004, Márquez graduated to a 125cc bike. He raced in the Catalan 125cc championship, with Pol Espargaró as his teammate. Márquez finished runner-up to Espargaró in 2004, and won the championship in 2005 and 2006. In 2006, Márquez also made his debut in the 125cc Spanish Road Racing Championship (CEV), where he finished eighth. He was disadvantaged due to his size: at twelve years old, he was 1.29 m (4 ft 3 in) tall and weighed just 29 kilos. His team fitted his bike and leathers with 21 kilos' extra weight to compensate. He finished the 2007 season ninth after several crashes, but showed enough potential to move into the world championship for the 2008 season.
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