McPint bets on Marc Marquez
Testing has begun but who’ll be able to stop a returning MM93?
It’s good that MotoGP testing has got underway (see page 60-63) but the biggest thing for me will be the return of Marquez. We never expected his rehab would take so long, it goes to show that when it does go wrong, things can get ugly. People are saying MotoGP has moved on, but there is no chance it’s moved on beyond his capabilities. It may be that he needs to get a race or two under his belt, but in terms of lap times and pace it hasn’t changed.
It’s not going to be easy though.
‘I can’t imagine what it’s like to hang on to a MotoGP bike’
I do a bit of riding myself, but can’t imagine what it’s like to hang on to a MotoGP bike. Normally Marquez would spend the winter motocrossing, mini biking, flattracking… generally dicking about, but he hasn’t done any of that. I can remember coming back from my injury and that first time you drop it on your knee. I’m not saying it affects you, but it’s definitely on your mind. The other thing now compared to when he won his first titles is the fact that this year there are 20 fast lads so he could be 0.6s off and qualify 15th. And that means you’ve got to pass 15 riders to get to the top. But if the old Marquez comes back then that’s that theory out the window because he’s got so much skill he can just smash his way through. He’s really, really hard, but also very fair.
The only thing the other riders can try to do is rough him up, but I don’t think it’s in their nature. Take Morbidelli – he’s amazing and when he’s on his own, he’s so precise but if Marquez has a sniff at him he’ll move out the way because if he doesn’t Marquez will move him out the way!