Marc Márquez will reappear this weekend at the Portuguese Grand Prix nine months after the injury he suffered on July 19 in Jerez and after being declared fit by doctors the same Thursday.
During all this time, the fault improved and three steps through the operating room led to fear of the worst, as the pilot himself acknowledged this Thursday at the previous press conference held in Portimao , in which he dedicated an hour and 43 minutes to cater to the media.
“It’s great to be back here, it’s been a very difficult nine months, but now is the time to take the most important step in my recovery: get on the bike. I feel butterflies in my stomach, it’s not normal for me, but when I get on the bike it will go away. I have reunited with the team, with the Japanese, whom I had not seen since Jerez , and it has been fantastic”, introduced Márquez .
“I won’t be the same Marc, I need time, I’m in rehabilitation, the physical part and the mental part, and I really want to get on the bike,” added the Honda rider.
It was then that Marc confessed that he had feared the worst during all these months in which he had to watch the races on television.
“It’s been really strange, especially at the beginning. Then it became normal, as one more fan enjoying the races, it was difficult not to compete in Qatar , I felt prepared but not one hundred percent well, the doctors decided to stop me and I followed their advice. There have been nine months of doubts not only about whether I would drive again, but also about whether I would have a normal arm again”, Marc released, making it clear that he did not have everything with him as to whether he could drive again.
“At all times I have been optimistic, but also realistic. The first concern was to have a normal arm and be able to lead a normal life again. The doctors reassured me saying that it was a matter of time, three months if it went well or a year if it got complicated. There have been no problems since the last operation, you don’t forget what happened, you have it engraved on your skin and in your mind, but being back here you forget a little about everything that happened”.
After ruling out running the first two races in Qatar, Marc has chosen a circuit in which he has never raced to reappear, and also with the threat of rain for this Friday.
“I would not like to have to come back in the rain after so long, but if I am here I will do it in any circumstance. A month ago I came here, it was the last time I rode a motorcycle, last Monday I used a flat track, but the last motorcycle as God intended was here in Portimao . So we decided to stop the activity so that the bone could improve. The confidence of all these riders is through the air and mine is not so high, this is my preseason and I don’t think about results, just about getting on the bike and enjoying it”.
In these nine months, the hierarchy in MotoGP has changed, there is a new champion and a lot of riders capable of winning races.
“It is impossible to understand the situation of the races from television, there are many ups and downs from one day to the next, you see a driver who stands out on Saturday and suffers on Sunday, it is strange to understand this from home. It is true that I really want to drive, having many drivers in front in a group race like we saw in Qatar can be fantastic, I am not ready for that now, but in the future I hope to be in those battles like the ones we saw in the first two careers”.
A year later, Marc was asked which Honda he was going to meet.
“Honda is not in the best situation, I have spoken with the Japanese, they have worked to see where the problem is, the important thing is to find a compromise so that any pilot can take it. Honda now has good riders, Pol Espargaró , Nakagami , my brother, they have the same difficulties that I had when I left the bike, commitment to the front end and trying not to crash. The bikes have not changed much from one year to the next, but there are some updates that I am going to try to understand. I’m going to start with Bradl’s bike, with his setup, not with my bike, and from there I’ll try to build my bike to get back to the top level”.
Now the big question is which Márquez we are going to find this weekend.
“Honestly I can’t answer, the main objective is to be prepared and feel good on the bike, that’s the reason I’m here. The question is how my body and my arm will react, I don’t know. I would like to be prepared, to have had a private test, but it cannot be and we are going to go out and compete from the first day. We have spoken with the doctors and the decision was unanimous. In Qatar we were almost in the yes, but it was not unanimous, now there has been and that is the reason why I am here. I’ll tell you what I told Takeo [Yokoyama, technical director of HRC], I have no goals this weekend, I just want to ride, we’ll have time to put pressure on ourselves for the results, I’m going to find a difficult category, everything has changed, there are no more satellite bikes, they are all factory, you are the best riders in the world, I am back but I don’t know how long it will take me”.
Márquez remarked several times that the rest of the riders have a great physical advantage right now.
“I feel ready to ride the bike, I would love to feel different, in the last nine months I have ridden a bike for three days and in the last month, none. It is a step that we think is the right time to do and I continue with my recovery. I don’t think I feel strong, we are in the best category in the world against the best riders, everyone is very confident and I am not in the same position”.
“I’m not thinking about the rivals right now, but if I put myself in their shoes, if you have the necessary self-esteem, it doesn’t have to make you nervous. Now comes a rider who has won a lot in the past, yes, but who arrives after a year standing, without having trained on a motorcycle, and in a month I have only done four laps of flat track, without stressing the muscular area of the arm that I have to keep taking care of. I am in my recovery, I don’t care what they may think or what may happen on the track, I want to reach my level and I don’t care about the time”, settled Márquez .
Márquez reappears at the Portimao press conference
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
