Marc Marquez

Márquez moved into the Moto2 class for 2011 – the first of an expected two-year deal^[7] – as the sole rider of the new team Monlau Competición, run by his own personal manager Emilio Alzamora. Márquez started the season with a pair of accidents in Qatar and at Jerez, after contact with Jules Cluzel. He finished 21st in Portugal, before taking his first victory in the class at the French Grand Prix, recovering from a poor start that left him in ninth position at one point of the race.^[8] At his home race in Catalonia, Márquez finished second behind championship leader Stefan Bradl, before another fall at Silverstone, having started from his first Moto2 pole position. With Bradl taking his fourth victory in the first six races, Márquez trailed him by 82 points at the end of the weekend.^[9] Márquez made a mid-season surge up the championship standings, winning six of the next seven races to move within six points of Bradl in the championship standings.^[10]

In Japan, Márquez took his seventh pole position of the season but was beaten in the race by Andrea Iannone,^[11] but Márquez's second place finish combined with a fourth place for Bradl, allowed Márquez to take the championship lead by a point.^[12] At the Australian Grand Prix, Márquez was involved in an incident with Ratthapark Wilairot during free practice; Márquez crashed into the back of Wilairot after the session had been concluded, and for riding in an "irresponsible manner", was given a one-minute time penalty onto his qualifying time.^[13] The penalty ensured Márquez would start the race from last on the grid, but he made his way through the field and eventually finished the race in third place, albeit losing his championship lead to Bradl, who finished second.

Prior to the Malaysian Grand Prix, Márquez confirmed that he would remain in Moto2 for the 2012 season,^[14] after rumours of a move into the MotoGP class. Márquez's race weekend was hampered in the opening minutes of the first free practice session, as he crashed on a damp patch of asphalt.^[15] After sitting out two further practice sessions, Márquez completed two laps in the qualifying session, but his times were only good enough for 36th on the grid. He did not start the race, as he failed a medical examination prior to the warm-up on race morning.^[16] Márquez attended the final race of the season in Valencia, in the hope of being fit to compete, but withdrew due to his continued vision problems, giving Bradl the title.^[17]

On 12 July 2012, it was announced that Márquez had signed a two-year contract with the Repsol Honda team in MotoGP, replacing the retiring Casey Stoner alongside Dani Pedrosa, from 2013onwards.^[18][19]