Marquez's comeback from 'nightmare' to contender

Marc Marquez is a 2025 MotoGP title contender.

Those words would have been unthinkable to the eight-time world champion two seasons ago when he was living a "nightmare" after suffering broken bones, and severe concussion, and needing a number of operations.

The six-time MotoGP champion had not won a race for nearly 1,000 days - something that would have seemed impossible as he won four consecutive championships from 2016 to 2019.

"Two years ago I was maybe in the deepest moment of my career because in 2020 it started - the nightmare," the 32-year-old told BBC Sport.

"I didn't know what [the future] would be, but I had some difficult decisions [to make] - risky decisions."

In 2023 the Spaniard told BBC Sport he was not "ready to win again". At the end of that season he left Honda - a team he was at for 11 years - and joined Gresini Racing, the satellite Ducati team.

"Honda were my friends and with a very good salary - I said no to all those things, just prove to myself if I was able to be fast," he said.

Now, leading the championship standings and racing for the factory Ducati team, he has his proof.

How has he got to the point where a ninth world title - to equal fellow great Valentino Rossi - is within reach?

Some fans are hailing Marquez's return to title-contending form as a comeback for the ages.

It is not hard to see why.

Since winning his most recent MotoGP title in 2019, Marquez has suffered a string of injuries.

He broke his arm at the start of the 2020 season, which over the course of two years required four operations.

In 2021 a motocross crash resulted in severe concussion.

The following year, double vision meant he had to miss many races, and in 2023 he broke his ankle, ribs and fingers.

For him, his comeback is complete - regardless of whether he wins the title.

"The most difficult challenge of my career... I have already achieved that - coming back from a lot of injuries. I broke many, many things just trying to improve my skills," he said.

After a solid 2024, when he claimed three feature race wins and two pole positions, he joined the factory Ducati team on a two-year contract.

"The first goal was to rebuild my confidence," he said. "And rebuild the confidence means step by step to try to put in targets that you can achieve.

"You cannot arrive at a victory straight away. First of all you need to understand the bike, then try to finish in the top five, then a podium and then step by step fight for a victory."

Marquez has had to change his approach to stay competitive. Once a trend setter, he is now the one having to adapt.

"When I arrived in MotoGP I was fighting against big names - Jorge Lorenzo, Dani Pedrosa, Valentino Rossi. The main difference when I arrived in MotoGP to now is that now I am fighting against the younger talents that arrive from Moto2 and they are super competitive," he said.

"I introduced the elbow and a new riding style and now when the younger riders arrive, they introduce another thing so I need to adapt."

He has also become more aware of safety.

"I think more about the safety and I try to calculate more the risks - at one of the strongest and weakest points of my career it was difficult to see the risk," said Marquez, who remains the youngest MotoGP champion of all time.

"Ten years ago, I was like 'my body is just for riding a bike, I don't care - I am fit and I will recover', but now I understand that recovering from some injuries are super difficult."

The last time Marquez was fighting for the title - in 2019 - his rivals were legends in the sport in Rossi and Lorenzo, who have a combined 14 world titles.

This year the challenger is much closer to home, with his younger brother Alex sitting second behind him in the standings.

Marc Marquez leads the MotoGP standings on 196 points and has a 24-point advantage over his brother with 15 races remaining.

Even their mother has split loyalties.

"We are living a dream," said Marquez, whose 29-year-old brother competes for Gresini Ducati. "We are first and second in the championship together.

"My mum is supporting more Alex, but always joking because she says to us, 'you have enough, let him win'.

"Now we are super tight because we know I can help him and he can help me. And we want the best for each other."

Who is better - Rossi or Marc Marquez? It is the debate that continues to rage on between motorsport fans.

In terms of titles in the premier class, Rossi, who retired in 2021 has seven, with nine world titles in total. Marquez has six in MotoGP - and a title in both the 125cc and Moto2 Championship, bringing his total to eight.

Rossi has 89 MotoGP race wins with Marquez on 62 before the start of the 2025 season.

And that ninth world title remains a goal for Marquez.

"Of course nine is a number that I would like to achieve because it is the next number in my career and we will try," he said. "And it is true it would equal Valentino Rossi in championships."