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Marc Márquez was back at the track for the last MotoGP round at the Red Bull Ring in Austria. But not to ride his motorcycle. In fact, he met with the team, the media, fellow riders, and others, but then he flew home before the race. Continuing his rehabilitation at home was a lot less painful — and more productive — than watching "his" motorcycle being ridden in the race by someone else.
Honda Racing Corporation is launching a series of videos called "Behind the Dream," and the first features Márquez's visit to the Red Bull Ring. Now after two years of struggles and a fourth and final surgery on his broken right arm, Márquez is seeing thing in a new light. I say "final" surgery because it will either allow him to return to his world-beating form or it will mark the beginning of the end of his career. And he knows that.
"Of course there's a big difference between the fear you can feel for an important race weekend or the fear you can feel for your future," Márquez says in the video.
There's no doubt that a superhuman desire to win — or, better put, a superhuman hatred of losing — is a key motivation for all top athletes, including MotoGP racers. That's a big part of what pushes an eight-time world champion to fight through the surgeries, the rehabilitation, the disappointment. But the video ends with a quote from Márquez that I think all of us who are not at all elite athletes can relate to.
"They asked me, 'Are you dreaming to win again?' I dream to ride a bike with no pain."
