Marc Márquez

Marc Márquez Alenta (born 17 February 1993 in Cervera, Lleida, Spain) is a Spanish Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He is the 2010 125cc World Champion and the 2012 Moto2 World Champion

125cc World Championship

Márquez made his championship debut on 13 April 2008 on the 125cc 2008 Portuguese Grand Prix at the age of 15 years and 56 days. He is the youngest Spanish rider to take a pole position or a podium in a motorcycle racing world championship.

Márquez at the 2010 Dutch TT.

Márquez achieved his first podium on 22 June 2008 at the British Grand Prix at the age of 15 years and 127 days. For 2009, he was a factory KTM rider, and in the French Grand Prix achieved his first pole position at the age of 16 years and 89 days. He also took pole for the 2010 Spanish Grand Prix but disaster struck on lap one when the exhaust pipe fell off and went under the rear wheel, causing Márquez to crash heavily and injure his shoulder. His first win was on 6 June 2010 at Mugello. Further victories at Silverstone, Assen and Catalunya in the next three races saw Márquez become the youngest rider to win four successive races.^[1] His fifth win in succession at the Sachsenring was Derbi's 100th victory in Grand Prix racing, and Márquez became the first rider since Valentino Rossi in 1997 to win five successive races in 125cc racing.^[2]
He was less successful in the following races, dropping to third in the standings at one point behind Nicolás Terol and Pol Espargaró after being taken out by Randy Krummenacher at the first corner at Motorland Aragon.^[3] Four successive wins from Motegi onwards have moved Márquez into a 17-point lead over Terol with only one round to go. At Estoril, the race was red-flagged due to rain with Márquez running second to Terol. When returning to the grid for the second race, Márquez fell on the sighting lap and had to return to the pits. With repairs, Márquez started at the back of the field having not made it out of the pit lane before it closed five minutes prior to the start. Despite this, Márquez recovered to win the race and thus extend his lead before the Valencia finale. His tenth victory of the season moved him to within one of tying the record set by Rossi in 1997.^[4] He would fall short of tying it as he took a measured fourth place at the final race in Valencia to become the second-youngest World Champion after Loris Capirossi.^[5][6]

Moto2 World Championship

Márquez at the 2011 Czech Republic Grand Prix.

Márquez moved into the Moto2 class for 2011 – the first of an expected two-year deal^[7] – as the sole rider of the new team Monlau Competición, run by his own personal manager Emilio Alzamora. Márquez started the season with a pair of accidents in Qatar and at Jerez, after contact with Jules Cluzel. He finished 21st in Portugal, before taking his first victory in the class at the French Grand Prix, recovering from a poor start that left him in ninth position at one point of the race.^[8] At his home race in Catalonia, Márquez finished second behind championship leader Stefan Bradl, before another fall at Silverstone, having started from his first Moto2 pole position. With Bradl taking his fourth victory in the first six races, Márquez trailed him by 82 points at the end of the weekend.^[9] Márquez made a mid-season surge up the championship standings, winning six of the next seven races to move within six points of Bradl in the championship standings.^[10]
In Japan, Márquez took his seventh pole position of the season but was beaten in the race by Andrea Iannone,^[11] but Márquez's second place finish combined with a fourth place for Bradl, allowed Márquez to take the championship lead by a point.^[12] At the Australian Grand Prix, Márquez was involved in an incident with Ratthapark Wilairot during free practice; Márquez crashed into the back of Wilairot after the session had been concluded, and for riding in an "irresponsible manner", was given a one-minute time penalty onto his qualifying time.^[13] The penalty ensured Márquez would start the race from last on the grid, but he made his way through the field and eventually finished the race in third place, albeit losing his championship lead to Bradl, who finished second.
Prior to the Malaysian Grand Prix, Márquez confirmed that he would remain in Moto2 for the 2012 season,^[14] after rumours of a move into the MotoGP class. Márquez's race weekend was hampered in the opening minutes of the first free practice session, as he crashed on a damp patch of asphalt.^[15] After sitting out two further practice sessions, Márquez completed two laps in the qualifying session, but his times were only good enough for 36th on the grid. He did not start the race, as he failed a medical examination prior to the warm-up on race morning.^[16] Márquez attended the final race of the season in Valencia, in the hope of being fit to compete, but withdrew due to his continued vision problems, giving Bradl the title.^[17]
On 12 July 2012, it was announced that Márquez had signed a two-year contract with the Repsol Honda team in MotoGP, replacing the retiring Casey Stoner alongside Dani Pedrosa, from 2013 onwards