“You are fast because of others,” he said. “They make you go faster.”

Márquez’s father gave him a dirt bike at age 4 and Márquez began racing in motocross at 8, winning a $4,500 scholarship from the Spanish motorcycling federation that helped his family with the costs of buying a bike and the accompanying equipment.

“What I try to do is enjoy myself with the racing,” Márquez said. “When you enjoy, everything is easier.”

As for the high risks that his rivals see as part of his success, Márquez acknowledged that he sometimes frightened himself. During a practice crash at the Mugello circuit in Italy last year, for instance, he lost control of his Honda at nearly 210 miles an hour, which was said to have been the fastest crash in the history of the sport.

Records show that in 2013, he tumbled from his bike 15 times in 18 race weekends. But Márquez said he had cut back sharply on crashes by using his experience to determine where the limits were on corners.

Recently, during a high-speed slide testing at the Brno track in the Czech Republic that was caught by a photographer, Márquez’s bike was virtually horizontal, and his right knee and elbow were flush with the track.

“I closed my eyes,” he said. “And when I open my eyes again, I was still on the bike, and I was O.K., so I say, ‘Thank you very much; it is O.K.’ “

Motorcycle racing has long fought to shake off a reputation as a niche sport, and its popularity remains a long way from that of its four-wheeled counterpart, Formula One. The two championships use many of the same tracks, but the economics are as far apart as Silverstone and Indianapolis, where Márquez won his 10th straight race three weeks ago, making him the first competitor with such a streak since 1997.