Intersecting Lives

INTERSECTING LIVES

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GUEST COLUMN

MY TAKE ON MARC MARQUEZ, 2013 MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPION

FREDDIE SPENCER

"THROUGH OUR GREAT GOOD FORTUNE, IN OUR YOUTH OUR HEARTS WERE TOUGHED WITH FIRE." -OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES, JR.

In the early 1920s, a young man, the son of a blacksmith who owned a bicycle shop in Japan, noticed an ad for Tokyo Art Shokai, a company that dealt in the "Manufacture and Repair of Automobiles, Motorcycles and Gasoline Engines." He wrote them a letter. In the late '70s, a young racer in the United States saw Mr. Soichiro Honda and his racing team on ABC's Wide World of Sports. He saw a glimpse. In the late '90s, a four-year-old boy in Spain asked his parents for a motorcycle. He was on his way. Three people from three parts of the world, three individual journeys, three paths that crossed.

Marc Marquez and I met for the first time last June. He was doing an appearance for Alpinestars in Bordeaux, France, on June 7, and I was scheduled to be at a Honda dealer on June 8—literally right across the alley. It just happened.

Casey Stoner set the wheels in motion when he announced his retirement from racing at the end of the 2012 MotoGP season. As Marc was on his way to the Moto2 championship that same year, I watched a few races. I could see this real drive and a great ability to control the bike on the edge and a little bit beyond, and to be able to do it lap after lap. In Marc's first race on a MotoGP bike, in Qatar, Jorge Lorenzo took the lead early and had the race under control. Marquez and Dani Pedrosa were battling for second when Valentino Rossi passed them both. Marc stayed with Valentino, a good sign that he could pick up the pace when needed. A podium in his first MotoGP was kind of a barometer of how the season would go; he would just get stronger and stronger.

One of Marc's main assets is that he is very good under braking and direction changes. In my early racing career, that's something I constantly worked on, the decisiveness, the ability to quickly change direction while applying lean angle—putting the bike in position sooner rather than later to be able to accelerate. The riders who did that best this year were Marquez and Lorenzo, first and second.

At the new Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Marquez got the holeshot, got in a little deep in turn one, and ran wide. Dani got by him, but after he followed Dani for a few laps, Marc made the pass. He won the race and broke my record for youngest MotoGP race winner, one day after setting a new record for youngest rider to win pole position. Auspiciously, I watched that race while attending a classic event at Imola, the Italian circuit where I won my first 500CC championship and broke Mike Hailwood's record for youngest champion. That night, sitting with Phil Read watching the race, I had a feeling.

On November 10, Marquez took third in the final round at Valencia to secure the MotoGP world title. Going into that last race, it got interesting, and the similarities between 2013 for Marc and 1983 for me are worth noting. Marc had a big points lead that dwindled precariously with a few races to go;

I had a big points lead, which Kenny Roberts whittled down toward the end. That last race of '83, if Kenny had won, I had to finish no worse than second; Marc had to place no worse than fourth to win his world championship. During the race, Jorge's strategy was obvious:

BY THE NUMBERS

1985

THE EPIC YEAR IN WHICH FAST FREDDIE WON THE DAYTONA 200 AND THEN WENT ON TO CAPTURE BOTH THE 250 AND 500cc WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS.

257

MARQUEZ, THE Y0UNGE5T-EVER MOTOCP CHAMPION, WAS THIS MANY DAYS YOUNCER THAN SPENCER WAS WHEN FREDDIE CLAIMED THE WORLD TITLE IN 1983.

27

TOTAL GRAND PRIX WINS FOR SPENCER, SHREVEPORT, LOUISIANA'S FAVORITE SON.

Valencia is a track that is not easy to pass on, similar to Imola in my day You could see he slowed the pace (just like Kenny did) to keep the race close and increase the opportunity for another rider to get between him and Marc. But Marc played it smart and took third. I knew I had two seasons to break Hailwood's record to be the youngest world champion, and Marc also had two years. Destiny. I trust it. History does repeat itself; it all had to happen.

That is what I think about, what we all care about: the history, the respect for tradition. What lays out the path that gets you to Mr. Honda's home? This is why we have records, so we can share the history and mark the milestones. I could tell right away that Marc understood his place in that. He is not afraid; he isn't going to back down. He perseveres, he struggles, crashes, and always comes through in the race. That persevering is the drive, the spiritual side that wills us along.

My only regret is that Marc didn't win in Japan. I was at the Japanese GP and would have gotten to congratulate him on the spot. I only got to meet Hailwood once, at the Match Races in 1980. After I won at Brands Hatch on Good Friday, the press was already comparing me to Mike. I apologized to him for that because I hadn't done anything yet. Three years later, when I did win the championship, I thought how nice it would have been if he'd been around. He was a kind person, and I believe he would have been genuinely happy for me. Thirty years on, when I saw Marc and said good luck, it was nice I could be there for him. We belong to a pretty unique club.

Only a few, based on sheer math and odds, can achieve the greatness of Mr. Honda or Marc Marquez. Somebody's best is going to be winning a world championship; another's best is less noticeable but no less important. It is the people, the connection, that matters. The impact of the individual pursuits of each of us is shared by the collective whole. Being youngest world champion at anything reminds us of the purity we all began life with, the importance of being childlike in our striving without fear of failure, nothing but true belief in the possibility, the willingness to hold the gas on in the face of doubt.

MY ONLY REGRET ISTHAT MARC DIDN'T WIN IN JAPAN. I WAS AT THE JAPANESE CP AND WOULD HAVE GOTTEN TO CONGRATULATE HIM ON THE SPOT.

Words can't describe the transition of light in the clouds once the sun sets over the ocean. Like the sun, we all have a path, a purpose, a responsibility. Thank you, Marc, for reminding us why we watch the sunset.