Marc Márquez, Spanish motorcycle racer
Marc Márquez Alentà (born 17 February 1993) is a Spanish professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer, who has raced for Honda's factory team since his MotoGP debut in 2013. Born in Cervera, Catalonia, Spain, he is nicknamed the 'Ant of Cervera' worldwide (due to his height of 1.68m), and 'el tro de Cervera' in his hometown, meaning the 'Thunder of Cervera'. He is one of four riders to have won world championship titles in three different categories, after Mike Hailwood, Phil Read and Valentino Rossi, and is one of the most successful motorcycle racers of all time, with eight Grand Prix World Championships to his name, six of which are in the premier class. Márquez became the third Spaniard after Àlex Crivillé and Jorge Lorenzo to win the premier class title, and is the most successful Spanish rider in MotoGP to date, with 59 wins. In 2013 he became the first rider since Kenny Roberts in 1978 to win the premier class title in his first season, and the youngest to win the title overall, at 20 years and 266 days of age.Márquez is often considered one of the greatest innovators of modern MotoGP racing, due to his comparatively exaggerated cornering technique of leaning so far over the bike, that he seems to be "in constant danger of sliding out". He is the older brother of 2014 Moto3 world champion and 2019 Moto2 world champion Álex Márquez.Márquez won the 2010 125cc World Championship, the 2012 Moto2 World Championship, and the 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 MotoGP World Championships. He became the first rider since Kenny Roberts in 1978 to win the premier class title in his rookie season, and the youngest to secure the title overall. In 2014 he defended his title, winning the championship with three rounds to spare, during which he won ten races in a row. Márquez equalled the all-time Grand Prix record for pole positions at the age of 23 in 2016. Márquez secured the 2016 title with three rounds to spare at Motegi and sealed the title at Valencia in the final round of 2017. He then went on to win the 2018 title with three races to spare and became the third highest all time Grand Prix winner. He secured the 2019 title with four races to spare at the Chang International Circuit in Buriram, Thailand, marking his 8th World Championship and 6th in the Premier Class. Márquez missed almost all of the compressed and delayed 2020 season (he completed 26 laps of the first race, before falling) as well as the start of the 2021 season because of a broken right arm sustained in the 2020 season opener. After returning in the 2021 season, he won three races in Germany, Austin, Misano, and had a further 2nd place in Aragon, but due to him missing the opening two, and the last two races of the season, only finished 7th overall.