How Marc Marquez shook his risky mentality in MotoGP

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Marc Marquez could take the MotoGP crown once again this weekend in Japan at Honda's home, where two years ago he earned the title that proved the wisdom of those who'd be advised to calm down.

If riders had their say, none of them would choose to earn their championship win at Motegi, as it was a frenetic circuit for the spectator and inhospitable for those racing, too.

For that reason, in 2016 Brand it thought it would wait for a week until Australia to celebrate his third MotoGP title (though in fact he ended up on the floor at Phillip Island.)

No one thought Mark could be champion at Motegi; neither the media that covered that grand prix nor the members of his team. To be able to clinch that title, not only did Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi both have to fail, Lorenzo and Rossi shared a box. And, to the shock of everyone involved, it happened.

It was an unbelievable end to a championship. After the end of that year, he has been living in the life of his life.

"I was going to be the doctor because I was not sure he was going to be a consequence of the stress I was under." explained, who, for a while, even lost his recognizable smile.

"I can not express the pressure I felt, I had no idea what that was like.

"The team had to remind me to laugh and smile, I was not the same old Marc I forgot to enjoy everything."

All of this came after a 2015 season when he could not fight for a risky mentality that caused him many crashes. Add in a new tire supplier, the new and unified software all the teams had to start with, on top of that.

"It was the most difficult season of my life," he says. "I saw myself ahead of a big mountain and I had to find the way to climb it.

"I remember telling Honda engineers: 'I believe in you and I'm going to change my mentality, but I will need your help in the second half of the season'."

Two years later, I think it's a different rider, as if it had been metamorphosis that has made him almost infallible. It's a rider that makes you feel better when you're in the game.

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