The Tale of Marc Marquez: Anything can Happen

By Joseph, Sub-Editor

The story of the young Spaniard, Marc Marquez, is an incredible tale. In the space of half a decade, Marquez has been the centre of a meteoric rise through the three motorbike classes to become a widely known name around the world. But how exactly did this happen? How can a person rise through the ranks so quickly?

Marc Marquez began his Moto 3 career in 2008 at the tender age of just 15 years old. He was the youngest Spaniard to ever get a pole position or a podium in the Moto 3 World Championship. He won the Moto 3 World Championship in 2010, and was successful in his first year in Moto 2 in 2011, racing for the Monlau Competición team. During his first season in the second tier he impressed and won the Moto 2 World Championship in 2012.

Honda saw his potential for greatness and signed him for the 2013 season, his first in Moto GP, the top tier of the motorbike world. His first season was incredible, and he surpassed all expectations as he won the title, being one of the youngest ever to do so. In 2014, he broke many more records, winning the first 10 races of the season in a row on his way to a second world championship. Although in 2015, Marquez finished the season in third, he once again showed his class with 5 victories. 2016 was the year that Marquez became a three time champion making him one of the best riders ever.

Marc Marquez’s meteoric rise through the world of motorbikes proves that anything can happen in the world of sport. Many believe that you have to take up a sport as a child and be professional at a young age, as well as the belief that sportsmen and women need time to improve and that they will experience their success when they are older. An example of the anomalies of sport is Franck Ribery. As a child and a young adult, Franck Ribery only played football at an amateur level in the lower tiers, and he was 21 before he was playing in a professional league regularly, and is now one of the best players in the world.

The story of Marc Marquez and Franck Ribery proves that in the current world of sport, early exposure to the sport is not always needed to succeed. Although they are unusual, meteoric rises and late exposure to sport can occur, and superstars can be made in such a manner.