Fourth position in the season-ending GP Generali de la Comunitat Valenciana on Sunday secured the 17 year-old Red Bull Ajo Motorsport rider his first World Championship.

Marc Márquez began his racing career at just six years of age after his parents had bought him his first motorcycle as a Christmas present aged just four. He started out in children’s enduro, motocross and minibike competitions, before making his way into road-racing where eventually he would win regional championships in various categories.

His performances attracted the attention of former 125cc World Champion Emilio Alzamora who has since mentored the youngster and helped bring him into the 125cc World Championship on the back of his appearances in the Spanish national series (CEV). In 2006 he had finished eighth in the CEV classification, and ninth the following year.

In his rookie season the diminutive Márquez won plaudits for his gutsy performances, recording a podium finish at Donington and featuring in the top ten on several other occasions.

He started the campaign late due to a pre-season injury and had his season cut short after a nasty incident in Malaysia, which saw his right leg trapped in his bike during free practice in Malaysia, damaging the cartilage around the tibia bone.

Back to full fitness and continuing with the Repsol and Red Bull-sponsored 125cc KTM team last year, Márquez promised a lot, but managed only one podium - 3rd place in Jerez. Nine top-ten finishes meant he finished the season eighth overall in the standings, however he knew that he would need to crash less in order to sustain a consistent podium challenge.

With KTM ending their participation in the World Championship at the end of 2009, Márquez signed to Ajo Motorsport for this year and contested this season on board a Derbi, following in the footsteps of Spanish legends like Angel Nieto or Jorge Martinez “Aspar”.

The 2010 season began much as the last season had ended with Márquez challenging for the podium but beset by crashes, although the spill at Jerez in between two third-place finishes was more down to a mechanical glitch than error. It was only a matter of time however before he would break his victory duck, and as he did so at Mugello, he embarked on a five-race winning streak that saw him storm into the Championship lead.

There were nervous moments in the second half of the season with a disappointing result at Brno in tricky conditions and a crash whilst leading at Indianapolis, and although he won in style at Misano, he was the victim of a first corner collision at Aragón, which lost him the lead in the series. Nonetheless, his resolve was strong again and in the flyaway races a clean sweep took him into prime spot to win the title. A dramatic tenth victory of the season at Estoril highlighted his ability to deal with pressure, and in the season-ending race at Valencia fourth place in front of his home crowd sealed his first World Championship title.


– At the age of 17 years 263 days, Márquez is the second youngest rider ever to win a motorcycle Grand Prix world title. The only rider to have won a world championship at a younger age is Loris Capirossi in 1990.

– Márquez has taken ten victories in 2010, which is a new record for most wins achieved in a single season in the 125cc class by a Spanish rider.

– He has qualified on pole on 12 occasions in 2010, which equals the record for most poles in a season in any one class of GP racing, set by Mick Doohan in 1997.

– During 2010, Márquez became the youngest ever rider to win five successive Grand Prix races.

– Márquez is the eighth Spanish rider to win the 125cc world title, joining; Angel Nieto (1971/72/79/81/82/83/84), Jorge Martinez (1988), Alex Criville (1989), Emilio Alzamora (1999), Dani Pedrosa (2003), Alvaro Bautista (2006) and Julian Simon (2009).

– This is the 5th world title in the 125cc class by Derbi riders, the others were Angel Nieto (1971 & 1972), Jorge Martinez (1988) and Mike di Meglio (2008).