Marc Marquez abandons chasing Rossi record: 'One more title won't change my life'

Despite a strong comeback in Hungary and Czechia, Marquez showed that he is still not close to full fitness yet in Assen. The reigning world champion put up the best fight he could and even found himself in P2 at one point during the early stages, but the Trackhouse onslaught of Ai Ogura and Raul Fernandez were too much to handle, along with a fiesty Pedro Acosta, Di Giannantonio and Pecco Bagnaia behind.

Marquez eventually slipped down to P6 before being handed a -1 place penalty on the final lap for exceeding his track limits warnings - a mistake which many other riders also made throughout the weekend. Ordinarily, this would be considered a disastrous weekend by Marquez's standards, but it's clear that his recent string of injuries have instilled a more cautious mindset in the #93.

At the start of the weekend, Marquez made clear that his only goal was to 'survive' the difficult and highly physical track. Ducati team principal Davide Tardozzi also echoed the sentiments over the weekend, stating that it was an opporunity to 'score points' but that the likelihood of defeating Aprilia was next to zero. On top of that, the searing heat in excess of 37 degrees was an additional factor which made the race more difficult.

Even after Marco Bezzecchi's crash on just the second lap of the race, Ducati weren't able to capitalize - at least not the factory team. Bagnaia suffered a mechanic issue which forced him to retire from the race, meanwhile Marquez gradually lost positions after duelling with Acosta and Di Giannantonio - the latter pulling a move which mirrored exactly what Marquez had done to the VR46 rider's boss, Valentino Rossi, eleven years ago.

Following the weekend, Marquez was relieved to have survived the Assen circuit without any further injuries. While his gap to the top of the championship still remains at 40 points, it seems that it was a successful weekend overall for the Ducati man:

"More than a crazy race, it was a long one, a very long one, because I was on the bike waiting for those last 10 laps to take that extra step, and I did, even with the soft rear tire. I was riding smoothly and precisely, to finish the race and leave Holland without any injuries," he told GP Blog, among others.

"This is what I was looking for at this circuit, because we saw this weekend that every rider who crashed and went into the gravel… I already complained last year that the gravel here isn't good, because you go in at high speed. But Fermín didn't go in that fast, and you saw the step when he hit it. Today the same thing happened to Bezzecchi. I understood it that way on Friday and said, 'I want to leave here without injuries,' and that's what I've done."

Bezzecchi's crash wasn't the only event to make the post-race highlight reels. Marquez himself also ended up in a heated battle with VR46's Fabio Di Giannantonio. While Diggia clearly had the advantage in pace towards the end of the race, Marquez did his best to hold him up as they battled over P4. Eventually, Di Giannantonio pulled off a Marquez-esque shove and pushed the world champion through the gravel in a move that was almost a perfect replica of what Marquez famously did to Rossi at the same corner in 2015.

"It was a racing incident," said Marquez,"that’s what Race Direction said because Di Giannantonio was penalized, not for the contact, but because he cut the chicane. At least in 2015 I did the chicane."

When asked whether he believes that some riders try extra hard to beat him compared with their other opponents, Marquez gave the following response:

"If that’s the case, I’m proud, because it means they’re keen to pass me. We hope to improve in the following races so I don’t have to be on the defensive and can be more aggressive, but ultimately, it’s racing, and on the track, there are no team colors."

When asked whether his motivation for signing a new contract extension was to catch and surpass the records set by Valentino Rossi, Marquez had the following, quite revealing response:

"One more title or one less title isn't going to change my life." he said, "I'm here because I want to continue enjoying motorcycles. What I don't want is to end my MotoGP career burned out,"

"There have been times when I thought I didn't want to enter a paddock because I associated it with pain . I want to finish enjoying myself so I can remain connected to this world when I retire."