Spencer - Marc Márquez Dreams Come True: My Story

Castel San Pietro, Bologna, Italy, 1961

Its not easy being Mirco Lazzari. Its not easy on the heart, the mind, the sense of intuition and smell and everything else that makes him unique at the moment he hits the trigger on his Nikon to capture another distinctive, original and artistic image.

Every year since 2002, Lazzari has published a book called Living at 200 , a sumptuous collection of photographs of the World Championship. This is his way of sharing with everyone what he carries in his heart, in his head and in his fingertips: the love of racing that his father Mario gave him, and the love of art, painting and photography that he got from his mother Francesca.

It was his mother who gave him his first little camera, and it was his father who took him to Imola, near where Mirco grew up, to see his first race. But it was Mirco who turned himself into a photographer of international standing, a fixture at prestigious agencies such as Allsport/Grazia and, more recently, GettyImages.

His partner, Raffaela Gianola, has an art degree and specialises in photography books. Shes the one who takes the raw material of the images he captures and turns them into liquid gold.

Barcelona, Spain, 1952

Grandson of a photographer, son of a photographer, nephew of a photographer, brother of a photographer, a part-time photographer himself Emilio Prez de Rozas studied Information Sciences, part of the first generation to study journalism at Barcelona University. Learning from the likes of his brother, Carlos, from Antonio Franco and the late, lively and enterprising Alex J. Botines, Emilio decided to take the plunge and devote himself to sports journalism. He now writes for Diario de Barcelona, El Pas and El Peridico de Catalunya .

Thanks to the help and support of Juan Porcar, and the late Jos Luis Aznar, Emilio began covering the World Championship in the year when Freddie Spencer was winning 250cc and 500cc grand prix races on the same morning. ngel Nieto was beginning his last lap, and Sito Pons and Joan Garriga would get the crowd out of their seats, but such days of Spanish glory were followed by a long period of drought, with the World Championship totally dominated by Anglo-Saxons North Americans, Englishmen, Italians and Australians until the tarmac rewarded Emilio with what has been a brilliant decade for Spanish motorcycling.

This is his third book following the exploits of Marc Mrquez. The first, Una mirada al mgico 2010 (A Look Back at the Magical 2010) , tells the story of the young champions victory in the 125cc Championship, and the second, Las manos mgicas (The Magic Hands) , recounts Marcs victory in the Moto2 Championship of 2012.

Marc Mrquez is a phenomenon in the world of motorsports. In his first season in MotoGP, at the tender age of 20, he achieved the extraordinary by becoming the youngest world champion ever. He is set to become the greatest the sport has ever seen.

In this first authorised book, Marc offers an exclusive insight into his first year racing in the premier class and his historic championship win. Through the words of his team, his family and his rivals for the title, we begin to understand the answer to his remarkable success.

Its the story of Marcs greatest risks and challenges, from vision problems that put a halt on his career to the huge crash in May that saw him flying off his bike at a speed of 175mph. But Marc continues to rewrite history, earning titles with his fearless racing and winning fans with his boyish charm and famous smile and smashing every record along the way.

IT WAS 23 February. The party was over, but only for that evening. The real party the festival of speed, the record-breaking run, the first glory year of Marc Mrquez, the best newcomer in the history of motorcycling was about to begin.

Marc had just been presented as Repsol Hondas latest MotoGP rider. As the room emptied, Mrquez was gathering his equipment from the stage when somebody suddenly appeared from out of the shadows at the back: Grandad Ramon. Marc spent much of his childhood in the company of his grandfather his Avi while his mother, Roser, and his father, Juli, slaved away at work.

Grandad Ramon is a typical grandad and he didnt want to miss his grandsons presentation as a premier class rider, much less miss out on the chance to see up close, even touch, his grandsons new motorbike. Grandad Ramon is Marcs number one fan and his principal accomplice. It is a relationship born of long walks together around Cervera (near Lleida, in Catalonia), Avi recovering from a heart scare, his grandson pedalling away beside him on a bike.

Grandad, what are you doing here?

What does it look like, lad? Ive come to check out the new mule theyve given you.

Do you think Ill be able to ride it, Grandad?

You can do anything, lad, anything.

Look, look, Avi , you control everything from this panel here. Everything: braking, suspension, speed

And how fast did you say this thing goes?

Two hundred and ten miles an hour, Grandad. It travels a bit, huh?

Give over, goodness me! You can tell its bigger and more powerful than last years, though.

Youre not allowed on this one, Grandad.

Nooooooo way, this ones too big for me.

Well see what happens, Avi , well see what happens.

Well, good luck, lad, good luck. And above all, like I always say: be fast, but be careful.

Be careful a piece of advice regularly given to El Pichilla, as Marc is known among the team. Be careful a fairly redundant suggestion for someone who thinks that when youre enjoying yourself and chasing a dream, nothing should slow you down. Be careful a redundant suggestion to the youngest rider in history to win the World Championship in the premier category, shattering all the youngest ever records set by Mike Hailwood, Freddie Spencer, Dani Pedrosa and Jorge Lorenzo.

Marc shows Grandad Ramon how the computer works on his new Honda; in the other photos, he plays on his first racing bikes, including the one Father Christmas brought him when he was just four years old.

Everything starts and ends with Grandad Ramon. Because for Marc Mrquez, everything starts and ends with his family. His family at home and his family at the track. Because for all the factory bikes, the power, the high-tech alloying, the steel crankshafts, the computers, the electronics, the engine maps, the red-hot disc brakes, the chewing gum tyres, the 500,000 gearbox, the elbow pads worn thin from rubbing against the track, the units of horsepower on top of horsepower, Marc lives, races and wins for his families, the one at home and the one at the track. He does it because he knows his grandad is jumping with joy and happiness and fear maybe, too in his armchair back in Cervera.

Marc has always been a good kid, and even now that hes all grown-up, theres still something of the boy in him, says Don Ramon. Weve never had to get cross with Marc never! Hes always been easy-going, I should know. The whole family is very proud of him. Grandad Ramon never misses a race. It hardly matters indeed it doesnt matter at all that Sole, his wife, is forever telling him hes too old for such things, that its ridiculous for him to get up in the middle of the night, sometimes not go to bed at all, just to watch his grandson on television. But I dont want to find out from others what my grandchildren have been up to. And anyway, if I went to bed and they were racing in Australia or wherever, the sheets would start itching me I cant do it, I just cant. If my armchair could talk for that armchair has seen me do all sorts. Its seen me leap in the air, even though I no longer have the strength to jump, its seen me cry and suffer, its heard me insult one or two peoples mothers Yes, that armchair could cause quite a drama.