From dirt to tarmac (2000-2007)

Later that year, The Catalan Motorcycling Federation launched the Conti Cup, a road racing series that included bike, helmet, overall, gloves, boots and licence. His strong performances in the fastest motocross races inspired him to try his luck on the Kart circuits’ tarmac, although the initial stages were a little disappointing. However, by mid season he started to feel more comfortable and decided to repeat the experience the following year.

It was then when he entered in Procurve, a team from Mataro with which he finished third in the Conti Cup. He kept competing in motocross but in 2002 he started to focus on road racing. With the same team he changed to the big circuits by taking part in the Open RACC 50, a six-race Catalan Championship held in Montmeló (2), Calafat (3) and Can Padró (1). His first year was expected to be one of adaptation and learning, but Marc won the Championship with an overwhelming performance, sometimes finishing races with an advantage of 20 seconds over his rivals.

Due to the excellent results of 2003, the following year Marc jumped to the 125 class with a Honda 125 GP. He signed for the RACC Impala team, with Pol Espargaró –who was two years older- as his team mate. After the six races held in Montmeló (2), Valencia (2) and Albacete (2), he took the runner-up position behind his team mate.

A year later, the team changed their name to RACC CajaMadrid and the Monlau mechanics became a part of it. It was an important year for Marc, as it was then when he met Emilio Alzamora, 1999 125cc World Champion with Honda. During that season Marc won the 125cc Catalan Championship, as well as the Supermotard Catalan Championship 85cc class. The following year he repeated the Catalan triumph, and at the same time made his debut in the Spanish Road Racing Championship (CEV), where he achieved eighth overall position.

In 2007 he participated again in the CEV, this time with KTM, but several crashes prevented him from taking a better position than ninth overall. Marc, with 1.50m height and 43kg, was forced to take a 20kg ballast that affected the bike negatively in the changes of direction, as the inertia would drag him out of the track. Nonetheless, he was able to win one of the seven races of the Championship, at the Jerez circuit.

World Championship Debut (2008)

At the end of the 2007 season, shortly before the last race in Valencia, he went with Emilio Alzamora to the Ricardo Tormo Circuit to attend the Valencia Grand Prix. Immersed in the world championship atmosphere, Marc thought he was there to learn and prepare himself for the last CEV round. But Alzamora had a surprise for him: the next year he would be part of the big World Championship family. Both surprised and elated, Marc accepted the challenge and in 2008 he embarked in a new odyssey, in which he would learn and grow as a rider.

His debut in the Motorcycling World Championship was with the Repsol KTM Team livery at the Portuguese Grand Prix that took place in Estoril. During the pre-season, an ill-timed crash ended with a fracture of his right arm that prevented him from being on the starting grid in the first two races. But he was finally able to make his debut around the middle of April. Marc showed glimpses of his talent in that very first race, but it was in the second race, in China, where he took his first two points and made his remarkable potential clear.

In the following races he continued to ride among the top riders, but it was in his sixth race, at the British Grand Prix, where he was able to set a milestone in motorcycling history. Marc took third position, the youngest rider ever to make it onto a World Championship podium.

The Repsol rider alternated great performances, especially in San Marino and Indianapolis, with an occasional setback, such as in the Malaysian Grand Prix, where he ended his season early. In the practice sessions, Marc was run over by a rival, with incredibly bad luck his leg was trapped between the wheel and the swingarm and broke the epiphyseal plate of his tibia. Nevertheless, the season’s assessment was impressive, as he finished in thirteenth position overall, despite having missed four races due to injury.

Second year in the World Championship (2009)

Again sporting the number 93 on his Repsol fairing, celebrating the year he was born, Marc demonstrated in his second World Championship campaign the talent that had impressed everyone. Riding in the official KTM team, he broke new records: at the French Grand Prix, he was the second youngest rider ever to take pole position in the World Championship, and fought week after week to finish on the podium. He achieved it in the third round of the year, in Jerez, and despite being among the top group on several occasions, bad luck and crashes combined to prevent him from repeating the feat for the rest of the season.

Despite all the difficulties, Marc finally achieved his objective: to finish nearly all races in the top five. Considered as one of the young promises of the Spanish Motorcycling, he did not lack offers for 2010, but he decided on joining Ajo Motorsport team riding a Derbi.

Continues on the next page: