Last weekend a different Marc Márquez was seen. More serious than usual, more thoughtful and subdued, with less spark. His brother, Alex, was tremendously eloquent in Argentina, declaring that “he had never seen him so low in morale.”
Despite celebrating the possibility of racing again after missing the last two races, as a result of the wild accident he suffered in the warm up at Mandalika and which caused his diplopia (double vision) problems to reappear, the Honda rider presented in the paddock of the Circuit of the Americas with doubts.
Not even those responsible for the golden wing brand had it all with them, especially with a view to Sunday’s race, scheduled for 20 laps and on one of the most demanding tracks on the entire calendar on a physical level.
The boy had received the ‘OK’ from the doctors and was seeing well, but the shock from the crash in Indonesia still gave him some headaches, which he had to deal with throughout the weekend. In addition to this, his right arm, the one that was broken two years ago, in Jerez, and which has undergone three operations, continues to condition him more than one might think.
This limitation is given by the inactivity to which he was forced this winter, while trying to recover from the diplopia that already prevented him from taking part in the last two races of last year, in Portugal and Valencia.
Unlike what happened on this last occasion, in which he was able to work his body, Márquez spent the whole winter without setting foot in the gym, to the point that any daily activity could be a problem.
“The sports side went into the background. The worst thing was that I couldn’t lead a normal life.” he recognized when he got back on his Honda, in the pre-season tests. In his planning, those three months from November to February were marked on his agenda as the period in which to persevere in the care of his right arm and shoulder, to reach the Sepang rehearsals (early February) as fit as possible. .
However, that could not be, and #93 already started the exercise on the wrong foot. The fall in Mandalika suddenly brought him back to the starting line, and that was too much even for him, who until then had always been able to find the positive side of the most adverse situations.
Between 2013, his MotoGP debut, and 2019, when he claimed his sixth heavyweight class title, one had the feeling that Márquez was a descendant of Superman. As of that fateful Sunday in July 2020, it seems that wherever you step there is nothing but cryptonite.
For all of the above, the stratospheric comeback that he starred in on Sunday in Texas will come to him like rain in May, to gather energy for what is to come. The undisputed winner of the fourth grand prix of this 2022 was Enea Bastianini, but on a moral level, no one took such a revitalizing shot as Márquez.
His exhibition after seeing himself last in the first corner, due to a problem in the exit system of his motorcycle, was enormous. He lived up to that comeback in Jerez, the day everything started to go wrong.
In Texas, he finally finished sixth, six and a half seconds behind Bastianini, but the numbers left by his time in Austin make it clear that the essence of the boy is still there. After his disastrous start, the Catalan reduced the time with which he took victory in 2021 by 12 seconds. Despite having to wriggle through the peloton, and getting rid of up to 18 rivals, the multi-champion rode most of the time faster than the front runners of both Jack Miller and Bastianini.
Only at the end, in the last four laps, did exhaustion make him loosen up and ‘settle’ for sixth place, even though he could have a shot at fifth, which went to Pecco Bagnaia. In the last lap, the one from Cervera (Lleida) drew strength from wherever he could to keep Fabio Quartararo, the current world champion, at bay, who could not beat him.
At this point, the ten days of break until he gets back on the RC213V, in Portugal, will be great for him to continue strengthening his shoulder. If Austin was drawn as the ideal place to return, Portimao will make things much more difficult for him, both because of the profile – he turns to the right, clockwise – and because of his demands.
In an imaginary ideal, Márquez should stop running for a while to heal. However, that is impossible given the circumstances, with the season under way, and this championship having become a roller coaster in which anyone who lines up on the grid can win races. “I already said it on Thursday: at the moment, the passion for the bike and the competition is stronger than all the suffering I’ve been through. This Sunday was another proof of that, because when I needed help the most, this mechanical problem appeared,” he said, exhausted, before leaving Texas.
The 40 points that separate him from the lead are perfectly recoverable for someone like Márquez, as long as he can improve his condition and physique and, above all, get injured again. “There are many races left, but right now it would be a mistake to talk about the World Championship and victories. We have to keep adding and gaining that confidence that, hopefully, will allow us to fight for this title”, continued the Lleida native. As has been abundantly clear throughout his career, this rider’s time in the World Championship has always been marked by epicness.
In that sense, he has the most difficult yet, which is probably the most difficult challenge of his life. A challenge that is always better to face after a demonstration like the one in Austin.
(Click on ‘Full version’ at the end of the article if the podcast player does not appear here)
Photo by: MotoGP
Photo by: MotoGP
Photo by: MotoGP
Photo by: MotoGP
Photo by: MotoGP
Photo by: MotoGP
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
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Foto de: 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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
