MotoGP, Marquez: “In Austria I hope to be 100%”

After having sat out the entire 2020 season due to injury, Marc Marquez (the highest paid rider in MotoGP) only returned to his Honda RC213V for the third race of the 2021 season, at Portimao, an event that marked the start of his recovery. In the seven races he’s contested to date, Marc has already been back on the highest step of the rostrum, at the Sachsenring, but he’s also suffered three consecutive ‘zeros’, before finishing the latest Assen race in seventh place.

There is a five-week break between the Dutch race and the next Austrian round, taking place on 8 August, and the question is whether or not the Spaniard will be in top shape for the Styrian GP. In an interview with DAZN, Marquez comments: “I hope to be in shape for Austria, but it’s all an unknown”.

 The difficulties at Assen

He then talks about he was feeling before heading out in Holland, to provide more of an idea as to his unstable physical condition: “On the Wednesday, without having done anything strange, I called Puig to tell him that I didn’t know whether I’d be able to race. There was a lot of inflammation and then on Thursday I had some physio at the Clinica Mobile while on Friday I didn’t have much energy”.

Then the situation changed again: “over the weekend, things improved as I pushed. It didn’t get worse. I don’t know which path to take, but I clearly need some holiday time. To switch off and do absolutely nothing. My body needs it”. Before he is back to being Marc Marquez: "Before I’m back training in my own way – bikes, bikes and more bikes”. With one clear goal:“I don’t ask to win, but to be more consistent”.

Translated by Heather Watson

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