– With nine world championship titles and 99 Grand Prix victories to date, Marc Marquez is one of the most successful motorcycle racers in history. Nevertheless, the Spaniard does not lead a glamorous jet-set life of an internationally known celebrity.
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“Well, you can have a lot of money. But I’m realistic about money,” says Marquez on the Spanish imagin podcast. “Often people start earning a lot of money and change their lifestyle. Why?”
“With my friends, I have just as much fun everywhere. Why go to a place just to show off? No. I don’t like that. With my friends, I have just as much fun in Cervera as in Granada, as in Cadiz, as in Ibiza.”
Marquez only really started earning money when he moved up to the Moto2 class as the 2010 125cc world champion. It was a long way to the top of the world, as he started motorcycling at the age of four.
“I wasn’t even aware of what was happening back then,” he recalls of his childhood. “But what I do know is that we didn’t have holidays. So my family, my parents never went on holiday.”
“Back then, I just didn’t understand it. It was always just a day trip: from Cervera to Salou or Cambrils, to the beach, and back home for lunch.”
“But when you get older, you understand it. What does that mean? That everything they saved, the little they could put aside, went towards buying the child a used motorcycle.”
“I think my parents gave me a motorcycle because it was their hobby and they saw that the child enjoyed it. We had a tiny caravan and went to a racetrack on weekends.”
“The Tupperware box with macaroni, fresh pasta that never disappoints, and that was it. We went there, spent the weekend. My parents worked from Monday to Friday.”
“My father came home exhausted because he had driven an excavator for a construction company. He came home tired, loaded the motorcycles, and with the caravan, we drove to a racetrack.”
For Cost Reasons: First Steps with Motocross
In the mid to late 1990s, Marquez started motocross as a child because, on the one hand, there weren’t as many asphalt tracks in Spain then as there are today, and on the other hand, it was also cheaper.
The cost factor was crucial back then: “A road motorcycle, the tires, you have to change them regularly, then you crash, and the fairing, everything, gets expensive, so we chose the cheaper option.”
“In my parents’ house, we never lacked anything, but we didn’t live in abundance either.” His brother Alex, three years his junior, also started riding motorcycles. So the parents had to organize equipment for two boys.
Marquez also speaks of this time as fortunate, as he and his family eventually received financial support: “I was really lucky because, as I said, I did motocross.”
“The Catalan Federation launched a cup to discover talents. For 3,000 euros, everything was included. License, motorcycle, leather suit, helmet, really everything. 3,000 euros for one year. That was already a helping hand.”
“And that’s when my father said: ‘Alright, come on, let’s do this for a year.’ And exactly in that year, a pair of brothers from the Mataro area, the Rojas brothers, came to my parents and said: ‘We want to help your son.'”
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“The reason was interesting: they said: ‘When we were young, we wanted to compete ourselves and couldn’t. Now that we have the means, we want to help a boy who might not be able to for exactly that reason.'”
“And from the age of nine, as far as competition is concerned: zero euros. From nine to 15, I was already racing on the road, but I trained motocross because the training motorcycles were not included.”
High Bonus for First MotoGP World Championship Title
The team and sponsors financed the race entries. In 2008, Marquez made his debut in the World Championship. After winning the 125cc world title in 2010, he became Moto2 world champion in 2012.
In 2013, the Honda factory team brought him to MotoGP, and Marquez made history. In his first race, he finished third on the podium, and in his second, he claimed his first victory in the premier class.
At the end of the year, he was confirmed as world champion as a rookie. Marquez doesn’t want to reveal how deep Honda had to dig into its pockets for this bonus payment, but it was “more than a million euros.”
His success story began, which was naturally also financially rewarded. For the Spanish tax authorities, he declares himself as self-employed. At the beginning of 2022, Marquez moved his residence from Cervera to Pozuelo de Alarcon.
This city, with around 90,000 inhabitants, is located in the Autonomous Community of Madrid. It lies 15 kilometers west of the Spanish capital. Marquez’s property is approximately 1,300 square meters.
It is said to have cost about 10 million euros. “That’s how it is in this area, but it’s an investment,” says the 33-year-old. “I enjoy it because I haven’t lost [the money]. It’s already paid off. I was lucky.”
However, luxury cars are not found in his garage. “I don’t want to lie. In my whole life, I’ve bought two cars.” These were a Porsche Turbo S, which he sold again, and an Audi RS6.
“For personal expenses, I really only spend money on training transporters, training motorcycles, all that. What is necessary for my work.” This also includes the costs for the motorhome that his father Julia drives to races in Europe.
Photo gallery: MotoGP, Moto2, 125cc: All World Championship motorcycles of Marc Marquez
Marquez also travels by rented private jet. “For races in Europe, I already travel by private jet. I delayed that for as long as possible. I stuck with commercial flights for as long as possible, for everything.”
As reasons for switching to a private jet for traveling to races in Europe, he cites “flight schedules” but also “privacy”: “There was no other choice. I said: I do this now or I break down.”
“For example, my biggest expenses in a year are travel to the tracks, especially in Europe. Outside Europe, the team takes care of that. And then holiday trips, I go on holiday twice a year.”
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Despite his enormous sporting and financial success, Marquez has maintained a down-to-earth attitude, closely linked to his origins. For him, money is not an end in itself, but a means he purposefully invests in his work and career.
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