Marc Marquez is rich and famous beyond his dreams. Or his needs. That’s what comes with being a five-time MotoGP world champion and perhaps the ultimate risk taker in the history of the sport.

Marquez loves every second of the dose of adrenaline that racing delivers. Living on the edge and defying the laws of gravity as he imposes his will on a Honda RC213V. It’s a captivating combination. A win-at-any-cost attitude and amazing career stats of 44 MotoGP race wins from 108 starts in just six seasons. And the youngest ever rider to win five premier class titles, all of them with Honda.

Since he joined MotoGP in 2013 Marquez has been a one-company man and is on Honda’s books – likely as their highest paid employee – for another two years until the end of 2020. But there has been a price to pay.

Marc Marquez cannot always be the real Marc Marquez. A man of simple tastes who is being drawn, often against his will, into the world of the celebrity athlete. Instant recognition and fan adulation not only in Spain, but across Europe and Asia.

“It’s interesting, because five years ago I thought that I would always keep the same style of living. I thought that I didn’t need a big house, I don’t need VIP in the disco, I don’t need a private jet, and I didn’t want any of it,” Marquez said. “But the life moves you in that direction. I’m building a new house, a big one, because I need my privacy inside it.

“And now sometimes I travel with a private jet, especially in the summertime in Europe, because I can’t move. I like to travel normally, but imagine how busy the airport in Barcelona is in summer – I nearly missed a flight last year because it took so long to get through there!

“I don’t like to go to nightclubs and sit with my table in the VIP area, because I’d rather be on the dance floor with my friends, but I can’t.

Marquez, Malaysian MotoGP 2018

Read the full story in the current issue of AMCN (Yearbook Vol 68 No 12) on sale now

Words Colin Young  Photography Gold&Goose