Marc Marquez's Key To Staying Strong In Face Of Pressure And Injury

Repsol Honda racer, Marc Marquez. (Photo: Twitter/@HRC_MotoGP)

JAKARTA - Repsol Honda racer, Marc Marquez, has been slumped in recent seasons. The injury that kept hitting made it difficult for him to get up.

He also got pressure after pressure. However, he never gave up and kept trying to get back to his heyday.

Marquez said it was important for an athlete to have a routine as an effort to rise from pressure and severe injury that took a long time.

"For me, the key (to get through the injury recovery phase) is positive mentality and has a routine. That is very important," said Marquez, quoted from the official MotoGP website via Antara, Thursday.

"The motivation changes every day because a few days you can feel really down, but, if you keep your routine, and the people around you, it helps. I have the right people around me, my family and friends and my team and that is very helpful," he continued.

The routine referred to by the Spaniard is such as rest time to training or rehabilitation. According to Marquez, physical conditions also affect mental conditions, and vice versa.

"One of the most important things for an athlete or anyone, is adequate and sound sleep. But sometimes you can't control that and maybe have physical problems, or a mental side when worrying about something, it can be a little more difficult," he said.

Talking about his career in MotoGP for at least a decade, Marquez admitted that he did not expect to continue to be among the young riders in the midst of various world top circuits.

He did not deny that the recovery period of his severe injury in recent years had quite influenced his performance and perspective as a senior racer.

"When I started racing, I was very young and at that time I thought only about riding a motorcycle, that's all. Now I'm 30 years old and I realized that I need to pay more attention to my body. Everything feels bigger now," he said.

However, the eight-time world champion said the only target of the season is to return to being a competitive rider in MotoGP.

"My biggest goal is to come back. Not many athletes have been injured for three years and can come back. I want to come back and be competitive again and fight for the (MotoGP) championship," said Marquez.