And 101 days later, Márquez will be reunited with his motorcycle and his team

February 2, 2022

The eight-time world champion arrived in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday to prepare for the first MotoGP pre-season tests, which will take place this weekend at the Sepang Circuit.

Marc Márquez , who suffered an eye injury when he fell training motocross on October 30, has overcome the diplopia he suffered as a result of the blow to the head, so he is, in his own words, “fully recovered” and ready to face his return to the handlebars of the MotoGP Honda.

The last time Marc drove his racing prototype was on Sunday 24 October, at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix race, in which he took victory, his third of the 2021 season.

Since then, 101 days have passed and in this time Marc had not seen his bike or all of his team (part of it in the test he did in Portimao with a standard RC213V-S), with whom he will be working since this Thursday on the Malaysian track to prepare some vital tests to understand what his own physical state is, let’s not forget that he continues to recover from the ailments in his right arm and shoulder, and above all to understand if the path taken by the Japanese engineers with the 2022 bike, it is the right one for the spearhead of the HRC project in the World Championship.

Due to health restrictions, all MotoGP personnel who have traveled to Malaysia are isolated in a bubble that only allows them to move between the designated hotels (two) and the circuit, so Marc, who traveled from Barcelona yesterday and arrived this Wednesday to Sepang, he decided to rest in his hotel until this Thursday, when he plans to travel to the circuit and work with his team thinking about the test on Saturday and Sunday.

Also arriving in Kuala Lumpur this Wednesday is Pol Espargaró , who in his second season with Honda hopes to make the most of the pre-season tests, two days in Sepang and three in Mandalika, to get the bike ready for the start of the season. in Qatar, the weekend of March 6.

Espargaró, who could not run the last race in Valencia due to a bad crash in practice on Friday, was able to be in the Jerez tests, held in November, ending up quite satisfied with the evolution of the Honda prototype for 2022.

For the rider from Granollers, who made his debut with Honda last year without practically doing preseason or knowing the bike, this year it is vital to arrive connected to the first races of the course, since in them his future will begin to be decided regarding the renewal with his current team.

Márquez and Espargaró, who do not present any changes in their teams compared to last year, will have three prototypes each during the weekend, with all the aerodynamic and technical specifications, and the new 2022 engine that Tokyo has been working on since 2020 to end the losing streak of the last two seasons.

The one who will no longer be on the track this weekend is Stefan Bradl , who this Wednesday already recovered his suit, boots and gloves (members of the Honda team brought them from Barcelona) and was able to complete 44 laps on the third day of shakedown, adding them to the 51 he gave on Tuesday, with a best time at the end of the two days of 2.00.449.