Le Mans.- The eight-time world champion could only be 14th on the FP time sheet for the French Grand Prix and will have to take a step forward in the attack on the clock if he wants to get into the official qualifying session this Saturday at the French Grand Prix.
During the day, Marc Márquez made a couple of spectacular saves, like the one on Sunday at Jerez in the middle of the race and which was then understood as a sign of the rider’s recovery, although the Honda rider clarified that it had been to the left side, the good , and “until he does it to the right, we won’t be able to say we’re okay.” This Friday he did it to the side of the injured arm, the right, but the runner nuanced the action.
“Today’s save is a save, everything helps, but I have done it with the knee, the elbow has not touched the ground, I have done it in a different way. There is practically the same action in 2019, at the same point, a little different, but the real save was the one in the afternoon, working with the body, not so much the one in the morning that I stayed on top of the motorcycle and when I played the piano it got up”, he explained.
In some moments after his injury, Márquez admitted that to reserve energy in some training sessions he reserved.
“Today I have pushed, I have tried to be there and today our position was to be between eighth and tenth, with used tires we were there, but when we have mounted the new tires we have not improved and the time I have done it with a medium rubber 12 or 13 laps, let’s see if in FP3 we can take advantage of the new tyre, we won’t be in the top five, being in the top 10 would be a good result.”
With the rider market in full swing and leading riders at risk of running out of motorcycles, paradoxically the calmest is Marc, who three years ago signed a contract for four seasons until the end of 2024.
“I have always felt very good at Honda when I won and they have made me feel very good when I have been injured, they have respected me a lot. If I were in the situation of having to renew this year, the first ones I would talk to would be them (Honda What they have respected me during the injury is something that very few factories do and I would give priority to Honda again.
“I am calm, I think they are too and we work together to get results. It is clear that this contract was signed for four years to win four years, not to be injured and in difficulties for so many races. Let’s hope that if it is not this year, I see it as difficult, next year comes. For insisting, no one is going to beat us”.
Despite the fact that the results have not come, Marc is still one of the most loved and supported riders, and he is still a favorite for a title that does not seem to be among his short-term goals.
“Before the season starts you work to get the title, then when the races start little by little the rivals are placing you where you are and what you can opt for. There you must understand what you can aspire to. I tried, I had the eye injury (Indonesia) and in these last three races in Austin, Portimao and Jerez I have seen that we are not here to fight for the World Championship. As much as I want to, we are not here to fight for the title.”
“You have to set realistic goals, you can’t consider winning a race when you’re having a hard time getting into the top 10, it would be frustration after frustration. We set ourselves realistic goals to have small motivations, like fourth place in Jerez. Was it celebrated? yes, because it was a very good realistic goal that we had set for ourselves and we achieved it. We need to celebrate things to keep pushing, and hopefully we can celebrate victories in the future, but today, we are not here to talk about anything”.
