Take this as your official warning: this may be my most insane page. There is something clinically wrong with me. I have chosen to project that onto Marc Márquez.

Also, the background is art that I made so credit to me for that one. Pretty rad, isn’t it?

Also part 2: yaoi warning. If you don’t want me to project queer narratives onto (presumably) straight men (who are Italian and Spanish, so let’s be real, it’s not that farfetched…) then click off now. /threat. .

Marc Márquez was born in 1993, currently rides for Ducati Lenovo, and I am incapable of being any sort of normal about him. I have so many thoughts. None of which are particularly organised. I shall put them here.

Valentino Rossi you are my enemy. I love you so much, you are my #1 opp, I am free on Thursday if you are also free on Thursday you beautiful terrible old man. Anyway. Valentino and Marc are such a horrible story. It was called the Clash of the Titans for a reason. It goes as follows:

Young Marc Márquez idolised the great Valentino Rossi. He owned merchandise, had posters of Vale up in his room. The first time they met, Marc gave Vale a toy car and they posed for a picture together. Marc worked his way up the divisions, and during Moto3 and Moto2 practically pioneered a new racing style. It was so aggressive, so sharp, so violent even compared to the usual standard that people told him to calm down. He didn’t.
And so, Marc Márquez moved up to MotoGP – the stage was set. He became the youngest ever race winner, and then the youngest ever champion. He was still aggressive, but did it matter? He was winning, he was exceptional, generational. His style was referred to (by others and by himself) as beautiful, and flamboyant. Always on the limit, always. If he wasn’t on the limit, he was over it, the price to pay for being on the edge at all times. Put simply, on track, he was a monster.
Throughout this, Valentino is there. Valentino, 14 years older than Marc, 9-time world champion, has kept an eye on him throughout the lower divisions. Waiting for Marc to reach the big leagues. And although Valentino is Italian and Marc is Spanish, he took the kid under his wing.
They became close – very close. Marc was always under Vale’s arm, looking at him as though he had hung the moon and the stars and the sun. Perhaps, to Marc, he had. Perhaps he used to look up at those posters and imagine that he would make it there, be able to stand next to him. Perhaps he did not realise how it would end.

Vale owns a ranch in Tauvilla, in which he has different bikes for different conditions. He invites riders over regularly to ride around the track with him – a fun event, a bit of publicity, a chance to become closer with each other. In 2014, he invited Marc to his ranch. 22 years old, Marc was clearly hoping to beat Vale on his home turf; to do so, he brought with him an entire team to make adjustments to the bike. A cultural difference – Spaniards treat dirt track racing far more seriously than Italians. Vale didn’t know this, and Marc didn’t think to explain. Marc broke the track record that day. Neither gave the other an inch, and they both tried to take a mile.
So it spirals from there – they keep fighting, and fighting, and fighting. They remain cordial off-track, Marc is still spotted under Vale’s arm more often than not. But there is a tension between them, the beginnings of the end.
Enter 2015: Marc is 22, Vale is 36. For Marc, the season is a struggle. The bike doesn’t work the way he wants it to, and it’s clear after a few crashes that he won’t be fighting for the championship that year. Vale will be, against Jorge Lorenzo. What must be considered here, is that Marc Márquez is not, never has been, and never will be the type to give up. Even if he is not fighting for the championship, or the win, even if it is a dirty scrap for a few meagre points, he would rather go up in flames than concede. Valentino, perhaps out of some mistaken hubris borne from 9 world titles and the power of being a childhood hero, seems to think that perhaps Marc will not fight him so hard when he has no championship to fight for. This is untrue. And so, they fight. Claws out, they scratch. They rip. They tear. They bite. It is dirty, and it is unkind, it is elbows-out tearing each other to shreds. It is a kiss followed by a punch. It is a smile followed by a slap. It is unkind.
When asked about his relationship with Marc during this, Valentino says “I think I’ll give him less kiss, but in bed? Everything stays the same”. Which could mean NOTHING, I’m sure.
Following a race at Phillip Island, Valentino and Marc are sitting in a press conference together. It is important to note that Marc, up until this point, is still following Valentino around with sparkling eyes, admiration (adoration) clear to all. And then. Valentino says the following:
“If we see another race like this, we will have to speak with Márquez, because afterwards, I see very clearly that he played with us. I think his target is not just to win the race, but also to help Lorenzo go far, and try to take more points from me. It is clear Lorenzo has a new supporter, which changes things a lot.”
As he says this, everyone is laughing and smiling at first, assuming Rossi is making some sort of joke. As the camera zooms in on Marc’s face, you hear the pin drop as the room realises he is not making a joke, that he means this. Marc’s smile drops. It is replaced quickly with his PR smile. He tries to deny this. Rossi does not listen to him.

And then it is Sepang 2015. Valentino does not want to let Marc pass, Marc does not want to stay behind him. Valentino kicks Marc’s bike, and he crashes. Valentino insists that he did not kick him. That it was mere reflex, unintentional, an adjustment of his position. Every person and their mother disagreed with him – as such, he got a grid penalty which resulted in him being unable to recover enough points to win the championship-deciding race. Jorge won that year, and Valentino has always blamed it on Marc, perhaps always will. They have not been amicable since.

Marc, 22, became hated thanks to Rossi. Nobody wanted to go against him, and so half of the grid turned their backs on Marc. Journalists broke into his home, he was receiving death threats on the daily. A brief reconciliation happened in 2016, following the death of Moto2 rider Luis Salom. Death will always be a horrible reminder of what one stands to lose. The reconciliation does not last long. Marc will keep reaching out, asking for just one small apology and they can move on, it’ll be like it never happened, they should be stronger than this. Vale will not apologise, and he will not try.

Come 2018, they have been wrapped up in each other in a new way for a while. They fight as though they never knew how to do anything else, as if it is a primal need for them, as if they are incapable of the love they once knew, teeth out. Argentina 2018, and they crash once more. Valentino believes Marc deliberately hit him. Marc insists it was simply hard racing in the same way he has always raced (the way Valentino has always condemned). Following this, that evening, Marc tried to apologise to Valentino; getting as far as Yamaha’s garage, he was stopped by Valentino’s best friend, who told him to leave and that nobody would want to talk to him here, especially not Valentino. He left.
In 2019, the two were asked about this in a press conference (another one, sitting next to each other, press salivating over any hint of an interaction, a smile, a glance at the other, anything, anything). Marc offered to shake hands, feeling the red string tug on his finger as he did, and Valentino scoffed and shook his head. “It’s like this” Marc said. The string was frayed, although nobody but them could feel that.
Marc crashed in 2020 and had to miss that season. He returned for half a season in 2021, and then Valentino retired. They did not talk. They did not fix their issues. To this day they are not particularly cordial. It is still unkind. Marc has not stopped riding in the way he did.

I still think a lot about these two.

It is, I think, in Valentino’s nature to not concede. To not forgive, and not forget. You do not become a 9-time world champion without being confident to a fault. I wonder if Valentino forgave Marc long ago, but cannot admit to his mistakes. Marc says whenever asked that he does not regret this, and that even now he would forgive Valentino, if only he would say sorry just once. He does not expect Vale to string himself up on the cross, to kneel before him in supplication, to beg or plead. All he wants is a “I’m sorry”, and that may be the one thing Valentino will not give him.

I think a lot about Marc from 2015-2020. I think about Vale, holding the blade, and Marc pushing himself further down onto it, to feel that crimson string relax a little more, covered in a different kind of red. I think about Marc’s move to Ducati, and the way he has strung himself up on that holy cross. I think about the way his team gently help him down after each race, soothing, uplifting. Valentino would not soothe. Valentino would leave him on the cross. Valentino, I think, would take their red string, and a needle, and sew himself to Marc. He would rather die on that cross than let Marc down. Marc, to this day, does not call him “Rossi”. He is still “Valentino”. Which could mean nothing.
On a funnier note, they are both still insane about each other. Valentino likes to go on podcasts and wax poetic about how much he misses but hates but misses but hates but loves but hates Marc and how he’ll think about it now, and later, and tomorrow, and next week, and how he’ll still be thinking about it in 5, 10, 15 years. Marc likes to say he never thinks about it, it doesn’t bother him, but he was so hurt at the time, and if Valentino (Not Rossi. Never Rossi.) ever apologised, he would accept it. Idk they’re fucking freaks about each other man.

I am aware this is a shrine to Marc and I have spent almost all of it so far talking about his relationship with another man. But I cannot stress enough how intertwined they are. Their legacies are combined – you cannot talk about Marc without talking about Valentino, and vice versa. It is more complicated because one of Vale’s kids, Pecco Bagnaia (my beloved) is now Marc’s teammate. It’s horrible.

I think about Pecco a lot, too. It's clear he's struggling, lately, perhaps finally realising why Valentino has spent years and years warning him to stay away. Marc has spoken several times about how great it is that he's able to be friends with Pecco. Pecco has said the same. I wonder if either of them mean it.

After realising that I, 22, am the same age that Marc was in 2015, I sent my friend a message about them:
I CANNOT IMAGINE WHAT IT MUST BE LIKE TO MEET YOUR HERO, YOUR GOD, FOR HIM TO REACH OUT A HAND TO YOU, SHINING, BENEVOLENT. FOR YOU TO TAKE IT, FOR HIM TO SHOW YOU LOVE, AND LIFE, AND LIGHT, AND THEN FOR HIM TO LIFT YOU SO HIGH ONLY TO DROP YOU. FOR HIM TO RAIN HOLY HELLFIRE DOWN UPON YOU. FOR HIM TO CALL UPON THE SKIES TO RAIN FOR HIM, SO HE CAN BLAME IT UPON YOU. YOU SHOULD BE IN THE CLUB NOT DEALING WITH ALL THIS FROM THAT HORRIBLE OLD MAN!!!!!
So, well. I’m quite normal and well-adjusted, I think.

Marc, nowadays, recognises how insane all of this was. “I had his phone number and Valentino had mine. We didn’t call each other. I was 22 years old, he was more than 10 years older. He had experience.” Which Could Mean NOTHING.

Rosquez aside, I am not normal about Marc himself. He is so evil. So terrible. I care so much for him. If he doesn’t do something cringe once every five (5) minutes, he will die. I would like to put him in a petri dish and study him.

I wonder what it’s like to be in his shoes. To throw yourself at death once every week or two with reckless abandon. To court her, constantly. Asking her if she’ll finally take you, perhaps asking politely that she gives you a few more races. Telling her this is how it is, that you won’t stop. I wonder if she is fond of him. When his time comes, will she give him the respect he deserves? I would like to think so. She’s smart enough to know that he’s been flirting with her for years.

Speaking of flirting with death, let’s talk about his arm. During the 2020 Spanish GP, Marc had a crash which caused his arm to break. Across the course of 2020, after making the mistake of returning too early to try to race, he had to have three surgeries on that same arm. After the second, the bone itself became infected, necessitating a third, much more complex surgery. He returned to racing in 2021, struggling with a bone that was then 30 degrees out of alignment, and had to have a fourth surgery. If the fourth wasn’t a success, he would have retired; he couldn’t ride the bike with at all the same comfort or smoothness as he had before, and it was only getting worse. Eventually, after a long healing period, he was able to return. His arm will never be the same. And yet, he’s winning now. 3 out of the 4 races so far in 2025, and every sprint.
I wish that this had never happened to him. And yet, in some ways, selfish ones, I’m thankful. Often I think to myself “if Marc could do all that with that arm, you can do this one thing with your ankles and wrists” and it works every single time.
Nowadays, he celebrates every single win, every single victory, podium, small moment. He’s said that his arm has given him a new perspective on life – he knows that if he was just a little unluckier, if death had liked(disliked?) him slightly less, he may not be in a position to fight for wins at all, or even race. I just really like him I think he’s neat.

In some ways, he was an Icarus. Except, well, it's more than that, isn't it? His god picked him up by the scruff of his neck, and then dropped him at the first indication that he was no longer loyal. So he stopped relying on that, and he built his wax wings. He flew, he flew, and as expected, the wax melted, the enemy won, he fell. We thought that could be the end. But now, oh now, he's built himself some new wings. No longer wax. And I don't know about you, but I doubt they'll be so easy to break.

I also have to say, this man is SOOOOO EVIL!!! We need to STOP pretending his crimes aren't on purpose. Every single time someone says "oh well maybe he didn't know?" he'll show up to an interview and say "No yeah I knew. This crime I committed? I knew I would get away with it. Yes I did the crime. Yes I will do more".
He's also really sweet with his brother. They had a racing incident in Qatar 2025, in which there's been videos released after which show Marc insisting to Alex that it's his fault, and that Alex will also say to the media it's Marc's fault. There's something to be said there about all that Marc went through when he was younger, and how he doesn't ever want to see his baby brother struggle with anything similar. How he protects him as much as he possibly can. It's real sweet. Ugh.

I will probably come back to this. I will have more thoughts on him, I’m so sure of it. I may make a section with my favourite racing moments from him, who knows.