For the executive, there are certain indications that lead one to deduce the role played by the priorities of each corridor, and Puig has no doubts about what those of the Cervera corridor (Lleida) are, the only one that has not changed its residence since he debuted in the World Cup (2008). Of the current Spanish MotoGP riders, the Márquezes and Maverick Viñales are the only ones who live in Spain . The rest (six) do so in Andorra .
Márquez was absent all last year as a result of the injury he suffered in his arm after falling in Jerez , in the first stop on the calendar. The Catalan had just renewed his contract with Honda , which now expires in 2024 and which, according to market figures at the time, stipulates a salary of around 20 million euros per year.
That prolonged absence in 2020 made the #93 accept the amount that the Japanese manufacturer considered appropriate to pay him, as he acknowledged in an interview with Motorsport.com . “I didn’t run all year, I didn’t do my part, so I told them to pay me whatever they wanted,” he said.
Asked about this gesture, Puig understands that it is not very common for this to happen in MotoGP and that, at the same time, it demonstrates the Spaniard’s commitment to what has always been his main objective.
“It is not very common for that to come out of the pilot. The first thing Marquez wants to win are races. More than the rest. Why do I think so? Well, because, seeing what there is, if his priority was money he would have gone to live outside of Spain and this kid is still at home,” Puig replied to Motorsport.com .
In the opinion of the former pilot, the effort that the Lleida native is making to recover the punch he had before getting injured transcends the physical. Apart from the pain and limitations that he drags, the new reality that the multi-champion is going through has forced him to reposition himself in every way, especially on Sundays and in the first appointments after his reappearance, when he found himself in the race surrounded by pilots who usually left far behind.
“ Marc has had to do a brutal exercise of acceptance, because he has found himself in an environment to which he was not used to, fighting with riders who were not normally around him, but very far from him”, concludes Puig .
