Márquez is back: "To do a 1.31.6 you close your eyes"

For the Spanish rider, the official MotoGP test in Misano had two objectives. The first and foremost was to verify that the recovery of the injured bone had been completed successfully and, from there, to try to help in the development of the 2023 Honda. Marc Márquez ended up very satisfied in the first aspect, while in the second assured that “there is still a lot of work to do”.

“The evaluation of the test for me is very good, very good for my interests. What I was looking for was to rediscover sensations, see how the arm was, the position on the bike, and the result has been good. Logically, when fatigue arrived , the second day in the afternoon, it was already hard for me, I went into slower pace mode, just to spin, it was hard for me to even touch the ground with my elbow, which is one of my strong points. The test has been very positive for me, but as far as the project is concerned, we have tried things for next year but there is still a lot of work to do,” said Márquez on Wednesday afternoon.

The Honda rider took part in the first test session in the morning on Tuesday, completing a total of 39 laps so as not to go out on the track in the afternoon. On Wednesday, on the second day, Marc did six sessions in the morning (34 laps) and another four in the afternoon (27), a total of 100 laps in two days, more than 420 kilometers in which he managed to set a better time of 1.31.642, the 13th fastest, just 6 tenths from the best, marked by Fabio Quartararo (1.31.054) and finishing as the first Honda in the table.

Some performances that led some riders to consider that Marc is already recovered.

“I still have a long way to go to recover. The maximum number of push-ups I can do is 25 or 30, I can’t do more, I lack strength, I’ve only done two weeks in the gym and weights, two days on the bike and the test. The round The longest I’ve done has been seven laps (actually 9 in the last one) and if you look at the rhythms every time I left the box, it was difficult for me to warm up and gain confidence with my arm, but we’ll see how the body reacts now, if the race was tomorrow, I couldn’t finish it”, he assured.

After turning two days and doing it with a fast time, now the big question is if Márquez will reappear, in a week, at the Aragón Grand Prix.

“After such a great effort now two options open up, either that the discomfort continue or that, in two or three days, the arm takes a step and I notice it with much more force”, a second option that would be the ideal to make the decision to race at Motorland.

What the Catalan did want to make clear is that he will not go to Aragón to go out in training as a recovery plan. “If I go to Motorland it will be to run the race”, adding: “I will only race when I feel ready to do so”.

The important thing for Marc, after more than three months without getting on a bike, is that his feelings after the test invite optimism.

“It went much better than I expected. I didn’t expect to be able to do so many laps and the sensations on the bike on the second day were already good, I began to understand what I needed, I was able to try things and when I wanted to push a lap I saw a good time (1.31.642) with reference to the other Hondas”.

“Honda is opening its mind”

On the Thursday of the Austrian Grand Prix, Marc offered a press conference in which he asked Honda, in some way, to get their act together and speed up the way they work on the development of the bike. At Misano we were able to see three different bikes in Márquez’s garage, as well as two prototypes in test rider Stefan Bradl’s garage. M otorsport.com asked him if, during the Misano tests, he had been able to verify the reaction he had requested from the manufacturer.

“Honda is pushing, they are opening their minds, it is no secret, it has been seen with the swingarm (ordered from an external company, Kalex). They are working, but logically the big changes are not from one day to the next, not here We have tested the 2023 bike, it will be in the test after Valencia, I hope so. But they are trying to fit the first pieces of the puzzle together, once they fit, the puzzle will complete itself, but we are in the first ones. So it’s time to collect information and understand very well everything that we have tried”.

Márquez, who explained that this Thursday he was going to speak with the doctors treating him to comment on his sensations after returning to the bike, admitted that medically, from the operation, he was cured.

“The doctors are very happy, on the last visit (August 24) they told me that their work, which was to heal the bone, was finished, and they told me that now it’s my turn, to recover with a plan, the arm will evolve and it’s time to insist, gym, physical, respect the breaks and if we can recover on the bike, much better”.

“The best training is to be on the bike, it is where the specific muscles are worked, but you have to have a minimum base. When I ran out of strength on Wednesday afternoon I started riding in a way that is not natural and there Irritations arise in the arm. We will see how my arm and my body react now, but if I have been in the test it is because my intention is to return as soon as possible, but when I am guaranteed to finish the race”.

Marc, who explained that “we have not passed the physical limit that we had set for ourselves”, did admit that “to do a 1.31.6 you close your eyes a little in a curve, the other Hondas also go fast”, settled between laughs the one from cervera.