Márquez: "For me, Honda's problem is not the bike, it's the project"

The Honda rider, who is still recovering from the fourth operation on his right arm that he underwent on June 2 in the United States, made an appearance this Thursday in the preview of the Austrian Grand Prix, where he will not take part, taking advantage the opportunity to hold some interviews with the Honda bosses, the engineers and his team in the box.

Marc Márquez, who has been fighting this injury to his right arm since July 2020, assured that “next week I have a review that will determine when I can get back on the bike”, something that he will do “when I am at 70 % physically, since the last part of the rehabilitation I will do on the bike”, he said.

The rider also stressed that, in his opinion, Honda’s current problem “is not the bike, it is the project”, and admitted that he has asked the Japanese factory to “make changes”.

During the press conference, which lasted just under half an hour due to a storm, Marc explained where he was in his recovery.

“Everything is going in the right way, the decision was important to make, it was that or finish my sports career, we are going little by little, slowly but surely because we know the difficulty, I feel good, honestly, but the arm has undergone four operations and we work to adapt, we can say that I am already doing exercises that I couldn’t do before the operation, next week I will have a CAT scan to understand if I can increase the weights and the load, and when in the future I can ride a MotoGP bike, understand improvement. I am optimistic because every week I increase the workload and the arm responds satisfactorily”, he explained.

Marc Márquez, Equipo Repsol Honda

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

“Since the operation, the first six weeks, I did not move my arm, I had it immobilized, we adopted a conservative approach to take care of all the steps, it is better to go slowly than to rush. The next two weeks I started moving my arm and then moved on with elastic bands. We’ll see if next week they let me increase the load and then we’ll make a plan. One thing is the bone and another different is the rest of the muscle. I am aware of the importance of recovery and if I have to extend it, I will. It is clear that when I feel 70% I will get on the bike, we cannot wait to be one hundred percent since the final part of the recovery must be on the bike”, he added, confirming that his intention is to compete before finish the season and before confirming: “When I get into MotoGP I will understand if the operation has worked”.

One of the reasons for traveling to Austria, among others, was to maintain contact with the team in such an intense crisis situation.

“Obviously you can see that Honda is going through a difficult time, and it is with all the riders, and when they are all, the project is not at its best. But it is true that we have the experience of 2020 and 2021 when I spent a lot of time away, I disconnected too much and when I returned everything seemed new. I have tried to maintain contact with the team, to maintain a close relationship with the engineers. I have not come to see the races, I have come to talk to the engineers, I do not decide what to do but I want to be involved in the project. In a situation like this, the driver cannot make the difference alone, it is a team effort”, he remarked.

Around those conversations, Marc was asked to explain what the bike needed to change to improve.

“I haven’t been able to test the last elements (parts), until Mugello you couldn’t ride the bike well and the problem was big. But for me, the problem is not the bike, it is the project, the information has to flow in the right way, if everyone gets involved in this and is motivated, we will surely get out of this situation. The important thing is to understand the direction that the project is going to take”, he surprised.

A few words that lead one to think that he is talking about changing important pieces within the team.

“When I talk about a team, I’m not talking about people, I’m talking about a concept. We are seeing the European teams work differently, Honda works a lot and they are committed, we cannot say that they do nothing. When I talk about changing, I talk about concept, coordination, I don’t have to say how to do it, Honda is the brand that has won the most, I trust them, but they must understand how to organize themselves better, there are fewer and fewer tests and the Work in the factory is becoming more and more important. I am not the right person, it is not up to me to say how to organize. I’m just a rider and I ask for the best bike on the grid, it’s my goal and that of HRC, which is here to win titles, just like the rest of the brand’s riders. The objective next season, although the sensations are not good, will surely be to win the title. Now minds are open and it seems that the sensations are good”.

As has happened in other teams, it seems that Márquez is asking for a revolution in the always checkered mental scheme of a Japanese manufacturer.

“I also don’t want to say that Honda has to work like the Europeans, the Japanese style has worked and has won, but the world is changed and the championship too, you try to investigate how best and beat the new riders. The important thing in a difficult moment is not to panic, that would be the worst enemy. We are analyzing the situation and I trust them, I have had an operation on my arm to get back to the top with them, but we all have to work in the same direction”, referring to Honda.

Marc Márquez, Equipo Repsol Honda

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

On the options of doing more than one race this year, Marc did not specify.

“My intention is to do a race this year, next week we will have the answer, I am not going to say now if I will do two or three races, when they tell me that I am ready to do it I will return, but more thinking about the 2023 season”.

In reference to the changes in the bike, they asked him if Honda should recover the bike that made him champion in the past.

“I want a winning bike, but perhaps the Márquez-style bike from two or three years ago won’t work now, bikes have changed a lot in recent years and we must understand it, I can only point out where we lose, but it is the engineers who must do the bike, if they are convinced to make a change, I will believe them”.

Finally, they tried to put the hook to Marc on his future partner, but this time the one from Cervera did not want to enter the rag.

“Next year we have Alex Rins (in the LCR-Honda) who has a lot of experience and is fast, we’ll see who my teammate is, but it will be interesting to see a rider who comes from another factory,” he said. a storm of wind and rain over the Honda hospitality at the Red Bull Ring that made it advisable to end the press conference.

Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda Team