Many merits are attributed to Marc Márquez, and one of them is his ability to come from behind in critical races.
Marc Márquez’s best comebacks: from 125cc to MotoGP 2022
Portugal 2010 (125cc) – from 17th to 1st
The penultimate race of the season, in Estoril, had not yet decided the 125cc world champion. The race had to be rained out after just seven laps, as the flag to flag method can only be used in MotoGP.
Once it was possible to resume, Márquez forced something more than necessary on his way to the grid and went down, but, at 17 years old, he had a cool head not to let go of the bike and enter the pits, aware that he was not They could fix the bike on the grill.
A swarm of mechanics, added to the support of other teammates in the pit lane, worked against the clock in the Aki Ajo team’s Derby and Márquez was able to start again, placing last on the grid. In a few corners, he was level with Nico Terol and they staged a great duel for victory, in which the #93 emerged victorious.
Australia 2011 (Moto2) – from 38th to 3rd
On this occasion, it was a penalty that relegated Márquez to the last position on the grid, in a year that had started with numerous zeros but that allowed him to fight for the world championship at the end of the season.
In the first lap, he managed to touch the points zone, reaching the 16th position, while his team watched incredulously the progression of his driver. The calm that they asked for from the wall seemed to encourage #93, who did not stop overtaking his rivals and managed to reach the podium, crossing the finish line in third position.
The surprise was such that the world leader himself, Stefan Bradl, who today is the test driver for Honda, was surprised by the ability of his rival.
Japan 2012 (Moto2) – from 29th to 1st
Márquez is not a stranger to the bike not responding to him on the grid and, in this case, a second place became a 29th, since the bike stalled at the worst moment.
True to his style, the rider from Cervera did not give up and started the comeback as soon as he was able to start his bike, passing his rivals with ease on the Japanese track, to sign a Spanish triplet on the podium, in which he would be accompanied by Pol Espargaró and Tito Rabat.
Valencia 2012 (Moto2) – from 33rd to 1st
Once again, a penalty caused Márquez to start from the back of the grid, but neither that nor the rain prevented the man from Cervera from coming out ready for anything. In his usual modus operandi, he managed to overtake a large part of the drivers at the bottom of the table in the first few laps.
In a race without pressure, it was one of the first great demonstrations of the Honda rider’s skill on water and, with two laps to go, he managed to overtake a Julián Simón who could only say that, that day, Márquez had demonstrated why he was the Moto2 world champion.
France 2014 (MotoGP) – 10th to 1st
In his second year in MotoGP, Márquez once again demonstrated his ability to make up positions in the race. The season had started exceptionally well, with four consecutive victories, but his poor start seemed to presage that he would not achieve a fifth.
However, the one who had become world champion in his first year wanted to continue showing that he had won the title fairly, and had no problem recovering the lost positions, reaching Valentino Rossi, who had tried to escape, but could not avoid for the Honda to overtake him.
Netherlands 2021 (MotoGP) – 20th to 7th
Not all comebacks can end in a podium or victory, but that does not mean that they are less spectacular. Márquez had just won at the Sachsenring, a circuit where he has won uninterruptedly since 2010, but an accident in qualifying at the Assen circuit seemed to erase him from the race.
However, the #93 did not give up and, although he had to start 20th, which was his worst starting position in MotoGP, he managed to cross the finish line in 7th place, after, as usual, managing to pass a good number of drivers on the first lap.
Americas 2022 (MotoGP) – from 24th to 6th
Marc Márquez returned to competition last weekend, at one of his talismanic circuits, COTA in Austin, but he could only finish ninth in Q2. This position on the grid was not too bad for a rider who is used to winning from back positions, but a problem at the start left him last.
He finished sixth in what was his first race since the opening round in Qatar, as he was declared unfit for either Indonesia or Argentina.
The man from Cervera had the pace to fight for victory, as his times during the race showed, but it will never be known if he would have been able to beat Enea Bastianini, the winner and current world leader.
