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In 2022, Danilo Petrucci turned the primary MotoGP rider to win a stage on the Dakar Rally. However a former colleague attaining nice issues on the legendary rally raid doesn’t transfer the needle for six-time champion Marc Márquez, at the very least not with the automobile on which he made his profession.
In an interview with Radiotelevisión Española (RTVE) programme Teledeporte, Márquez stated he’s a giant fan of the Dakar Rally who adopted the 2023 version from begin to end, and could be more than pleased to offer it a shot as soon as his MotoGP profession involves an in depth. The one caveat, nevertheless, is that he would solely do it on 4 wheels in an FIA class like a automotive or SSV.
“I’ll by no means race it on a motorbike, I do know myself and it might harm me,” stated Márquez with amusing. “In motorsport, with the working and adrenaline, you’re signing up for a bombardment. The Dakar is a race that offers loads of respect, it’s not simply, ‘Come on, I’m going to go race Dakar.’
“There’s prior preparation wanted, it’s a must to attempt to discover your manner. One other factor is that I’m aggressive, I don’t prefer to lose even in Parcheesi. While you go to a race, it’s to do nicely and push, and there’s a lot of stress from the media.”
Márquez is among the high riders in Grand Prix motocycle historical past with eight championships together with six on the MotoGP stage between 2013 and 2019. Whereas he doesn’t have rally raid expertise, he additionally enjoys competing in non-pavement disciplines like motocross, which he has credited with serving to him hone his driving fashion in MotoGP. His motocross dabbling allowed him to attach with fellow Spanish Honda rider Joan Barreda, who Márquez cheered for through the 2023 Rally till his crash and retirement in Stage #9.
“[Joan] is a rider who doesn’t lack velocity; he has an innate velocity that I envy many instances once we do motocross,” Márquez stated of Barreda, winner of Stage #4. “He was able to doing unthinkable issues. It’s clear that Dakar will not be received by the quickest, however by who’s finest ready, has the most effective technique, and on the identical time, probably the most luck. That luck has not been with Joan these years.”
Regardless of his accolades and including that he “likes all the pieces bike,” he has little curiosity in driving one ought to he try the Rally. Nonetheless, he wouldn’t thoughts making an attempt it in a automotive ought to he really feel the time and circumstances align. In actual fact, after Barreda’s exit, Márquez famous he turned his consideration to a different Spaniard Gerard Farrés, who raced a Can-Am within the T4 category and completed fifth general.
“Possibly sooner or later. I haven’t considered it in the meanwhile,” he continued. “However I guarantee you that on a motorbike, I received’t even think about it, not even to attempt to end it, since you’re going to compete and also you want prior preparation and expertise. It’s the hardest race on this planet.”
A swap presents its personal challenges as Márquez opined he would “have a tough time adapting” to having a co-driver. He recalled elevating the subject with Carlos Sainz, a four-time Dakar Rally champion who received Stage #1 in 2023 however fractured his vertebrae in a Stage #9 accident.
“I dwell in Madrid and I converse with him rather a lot within the health club, and he was getting ready for Dakar as if it had been his first,” Márquez recounted. “I usually requested him how he trusted the co-driver a lot, and he informed me that he’s very important for him. He’s his proper hand and proper foot, the gasoline is the co-pilot, it’s a must to belief him. It’s what would price me probably the most, getting used to those indicators, driving, and listening to somebody.”
Motorbike racers making the leap to four-wheeled automobiles will not be a brand new phenomenon. Fellow World Champions Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo together with Márquez’s former Repsol Honda team-mate Dani Pedrosa switched to sports activities automobiles after retiring from MotoGP. Some like Petrucci took their expertise off-road, although Petrucci has continued his pavement profession within the World Superbike Championship. James Hillier, a 2013 Isle of Man TT winner and British Superbike competitor, entered the 2023 Dakar Rally within the Malle Moto class for riders with out exterior assist and completed thirteenth.
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