MotoGP: Marquez admits end of 2015 season made him stronger

Marc Marquez has admitted that the events of the end of the 2015 season, when he went to war both on and off the track with Valentino Rossi, has made him both more determined and a better all-round racer.

Not something that Rossi might appreciate hearing, Marquez believes that the controversy that started in Phillip Island last year and culminated in the two barging into each other on-track at Sepang has made him even.

“The end of the year last year helped to understand this world even more. Not only this championship, but how sport works. On the track, it’s in my hands, and I can manage it, give more or less, try to improve. But off the track, many things can happen. You can say one thing, and people understand it differently, someone else arrives at another conclusion, and it’s difficult to manage it.

“What I’ve learned is that you need to always be very clear, say what you think, and then you can let the others understand what they want to. I don’t want to be fighting off the track, if someone is trying to create that, because it’s a battle that I can’t control. I can’t attack on the last lap there!

“I felt extra motivation in the pre-season. What happened last year was something not in my control, and a new situation for me. I was very disappointed, but then I decided that the best way to attack wasn’t to say ‘blah blah blah’ in the press release and to say the same things as Valencia; it was to attack on the track.”

However, when asked if he felt that he had gained anything from the experience, Rossi was less forthcoming, saying only that he ‘didn’t know’ if he had gained anything from the experience.

To read the full exclusive interview with the new world champion, see Wednesday 26th October’s Motorcycle News.