Marc Marquez declared his first thoughts were to those who helped him through his darkest days when he considered quitting MotoGP after scoring a sensational victory in Aragon.
Gresini Ducati rider Marquez, who also won Saturday's sprint race from pole, celebrated his first Grand Prix win since Misano in 2021, over 1,000 days ago, by pulling a strongman pose as he took the chequered flag.
It was apt given the nature of his remarkable comeback from a career-threatening injury sustained at the 2020 Spanish GP that left him contemplating his future in motorcycle racing.
He's since undergone four operations on his right arm, which has seen it cut open and turned 30 degrees to increase mobility.
There have also been a number of high-speed accidents since then, including a spectacular high-side in Indonesia in 2022, while he suffered a detached retina and diplopia double-vision.
The decline in Honda's competitiveness prompted Marquez to end his contract a year early, before joining the satellite Gresini team to run a year-old bike.
The gamble to rebuild his racing career, which has already secured him a factory Ducati contract for next year, was rewarded with an emotional win in Aragon in front of his family.
After taking the chequered flag, he said: "My first thoughts was all the people who have helped me during these very hard moments because I'm alone there on the racetrack, but behind me is a very nice team.
"Some very nice people, a very nice family, very nice girlfriend, a brother, and all these people that are helping me day by day.
"One year ago, I was just thinking about [whether to] stop my career or continue. Someday I will retire.
"But when I will retire, I will not have any question mark about my possibilities.
"I will try everything to be longer and longer and longer in my career and to be competitive. And the Gresini team gave me this opportunity and I tried to enjoy it.
"I tried to to use this opportunity like a rookie rider, like trying to work more than than ever.
"And I'm super happy after that long four years to come back at the top of the podium."
Marquez was in a class of one all weekend, and admitted the hardest part was maintaining his focus for the duration of the race.
He added: "It was super long. The first time I checked the laps was between 14 or 12 and I still had a lot of the race to go.
"But it was super, super difficult to keep the concentration. That was the most difficult part, because I was riding super good.
"In the middle of the race, even my head start to [think about being] around the podium but just I try, I try to push there to keep again the concentration.
"When I crossed the finish line, it was amazing feeling."
