THE PAIN GAME
Marquez & Lowes’ tough weekend
‘There was an explosion of emotions’ MARC MARQUEZ, HONDA
Marc Marquez bared his soul with an ‘explosion of emotions’ following his return to MotoGP after a nine-month injury absence. That rare public act of letting down his guard was a demonstration of what motorcycle racing and dancing on edge of pleasure and pain means to Marquez. Much more, in fact, than his heroic seventh place at Portimao. While lauding the impressive championship start by Fabio Quartararo, MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi observed: “Marc’s comeback is at the top level and he was very strong and for sure everybody has to take care of Marquez in the championship.” Euphoria and exhaustion overtook Marquez after he saw his first chequered flag in 518 days ( at Valencia in 2019).
“It’s been a long time since I dreamed of finishing a race. And this was the biggest step in my rehabilitation,” Marquez said. “When I arrived in the box after the race I was exhausted and it was the explosion of emotions that I couldn’t control.” Marquez had endured three bouts of surgery for a bone graft and titanium plates to repair the upper-right arm fracture suffered in Jerez last July.
Race winner Quartararo, who as a 2019 rookie dared to destabilise Marquez’s dominance, said : “Marc was very impressive in qualifying and now with 25 laps on the toughest track of the season he’s back.”
That flash of brilliance for sixth in qualifying and engaging world champion Joan Mir in the opening laps showed the mindset of MotoGP’s master racer has not diminished.
But like his physical fitness,
Marquez’s control of early race chaos just needs sharpening. “In the race if I had ridden like I normally do I would not have lasted three laps. I only did one lap on the limit in qualifying,” Márquez said.
“In the first laps I didn’t feel in my place, I didn’t have the pace or control of the bike. It was very difficult after a long time to understand the place to brake behind the others and the way to play it when Mir and others overtook me.
“After six laps I thought, ‘OK, it’s time to breathe’ otherwise I will not finish the race. I cooled down. I didn’t even touch my elbow on the tarmac.” Marquez posted his fastest lap on 17 of 25 and held on for seventh having dropped to ninth after an early bump and grind with Mir. He reported no issues with the bone in his arm, just muscle/body soreness and will now concentrate on physio and gym work, not riding, for rehab. Marquez got everyone’s attention in Portimao and is 52 points off the championship lead with 16 rounds remaining as he bids for a seventh tile.