Marc Márquez entered the operating room for the fourth time to operate on his right arm, injured in July 2020, on June 2 and only three months later he rode a street bike before getting on the MotoGP at the Misano test, last week. Ten days later, all at breakneck speed, the Honda rider will compete again this Friday at the Aragón Grand Prix, his fourth reappearance since the Jerez accident and, in the words of the rider, “I hope the final one is my last cartridge” .
The one from Honda or I paint as if it were now or never, that this was going to be the definitive one.
“Hopefully so, the last (reappearance) for me was also the definitive one, but then things got complicated. This one seems that, from the beginning of the operation, everything has been on track with a favorable evolution. But now there may be complications on top of the bike, not the bone, but maybe the muscles, something that forces us to stop. I want to ride a bike to recover, but also to prepare for the Honda 2023 project”.
Marc has wanted to make it clear, at all times, that each step has been taken in agreement with the doctors who treat him.
“The doctors’ recommendation has been: ‘go, but take it easy’, but of course this is a race weekend. They see a good option that is on the bike, but combined with the gym to work all the muscles, to activate them little by little”.
The expectations and illusion among the people that Marc’s return generates are colossal.
“I understand that people are excited about my return, but the one who is most excited is me, and I hope it will be the definitive one because in the end it is almost the last cartridge for this arm. I face it with great enthusiasm, I already had it when I took the decision to have surgery (at the end of May). I have already won, I have gained comfort in normal life, day by day, now what I have to see is if I also win in professional life, on the bike, That is where we must continue working, there is still. But there is still a long way to go to achieve results, for me and because Honda is in a difficult moment. We must both work together to get out of this, “explained Márquez this Thursday at MotorLand.
The expectations surrounding the reappearance of Márquez are so high that, knowing the character, no one rules out seeing him on the podium.
“No, no, no, the expectations, which I have already heard about, are too high, they are not mine or real. My physical condition is not ideal, I am here but to continue recovering, so the doctors believe and Honda, we analyzed everything and we thought that this was an ideal circuit to continue with the recovery process. I am here to compete, but not in attack mode, “he assured.
“The intention is that if I compete again it is to do it for the rest of the year, and if I am here it is to do all the remaining races. What was clear to me is that, if I did not arrive in Aragón, the next option was Thailand or Malaysia, one because Motegi demands a lot from the arm and the other, Phillip Island, I didn’t feel like going after so much time standing still, you have to arrive there rolled in. Now comes a triplet (Aragon, Japan and Thailand) and we’ll see how I manage I’m here with the intention of finishing the weekend and the whole race, and as far ahead as possible, of course, but without going crazy.”
Another of the speculations that have been put on the table these days is that Márquez becomes judge of the fight for the title in these last races.
“I’m far away for that, I think they’re at their peak, when you fight for the championship you get more than they have, you drive very well, and I’m not here for that now, we’ll see if we can be more in the last two or three close, but right now I’m far away,” he said.
The Catalan, before the last six races of the season, does not set any sporting objective.
“I don’t demand anything of myself, and above all I want to thank Honda for not demanding anything from me or expecting anything. What I do hope for is to have a good evolution of the arm, that each time I don’t have to think so much about the arm and more about riding. With Honda we will continue working, we have to have, together, a constant evolution because the main objective is to prepare for 2023”.
One of those advances for Honda is opening up to new things, like a new swingarm commissioned from an outside company, Kalex, which Marc tested at Misano and will ride this weekend to reconfirm that it works on a different circuit. “It’s ready and available, on Friday I don’t think I’ll ride it, because it’s too early for me, we’ll see the rest of the weekend,” settled the one from Cervera.
