Marc Marquez fought his way back to the top after four operations—he also found good advice from Mick Doohan, who made a similar comeback from injury.
At one of the most difficult points in his career, newly crowned MotoGP world champion Marc Marquez found support from a legend who knew exactly what it meant to go through pain and setbacks: Mick Doohan.
The Australian, himself a five-time world champion, had gone through similar experiences in the 1990s and understood better than anyone what Marquez was going through after his serious upper arm injury at the start of the 2020 season.
Speaking to Motorsport.com, Doohan praised the Spaniard’s unwavering determination, which saw him find his way back to the top of MotoGP after four operations and an almost endless period of suffering.
Success and pain go hand in hand
The careers of Marquez and Doohan are based on two contrasts: triumph and suffering. Until his crash in Jerez in 2020, Marquez was on an almost unstoppable wave of success: six titles in seven years and a performance that almost took him from last place to second place in Jerez. But the accident changed everything: four operations on his right arm brought him to the brink of retirement. During this phase, he sought advice from Doohan.
The Australian had also experienced a stroke of fate in his career that almost cost him everything. “Marc and I spoke several times during his recovery period. There aren’t many people in the world with whom you can have such conversations because few of us have experienced such a situation. That certainly helped him,” explains Doohan.
Looking back: Doohan’s own drama
In the 1992 season, Doohan dominated the 500cc World Championship on Honda. Five wins in the first seven races, plus two second places. He was well on his way to the title. But a crash in Assen brought his winning streak to an abrupt end.
The injuries were so severe that doctors even considered amputating his left leg. It took him two years to make his comeback, which culminated in five consecutive world championship titles from 1994 to 1998.
“There are many parallels with my case, because I too was dominating before I crashed in Assen. It also took me several years to recover. The drive that made Marc give his all was the will to continue racing – just like me,” the Australian draws the comparison.
He emphasizes: “Marc had a score to settle, and nothing motivates more than settling it completely.” With his first title since 2019, he has undoubtedly succeeded in doing so.
Pain as fuel for a comeback
Doohan knows that pain and sacrifice are inevitable companions to a career at this level. But that is precisely what can generate the strength that makes a comeback like his own or Marquez’s possible in the first place.
“Psychologically, what Marc has achieved shows how strong he is. So many injuries and so many operations take you to the deepest parts of yourself. All the effort behind what he has achieved explains why he is such a modest guy,” analyzes the former Honda star. The parallels between the two champions are striking: separated by three decades, but connected by the same fate. Both had everything, lost it in an instant—and yet found the inner strength to reinvent themselves without losing what ultimately made them legends.
A special title for Marc Marquez
For Doohan, it’s clear that Marquez’s latest triumph has a very special meaning. “This title will be particularly rewarding for Marc, especially because he was on the verge of retirement. The time he spent injured felt endless and incredibly tough. But I’m sure that, looking back now, he sees that period as a time that was worth getting through.”