After fracturing the humerus of his right arm in July 2020, Marc Márquez he underwent three operations and remained on the sidelines of MotoGP for nine months, making his return to the third Grand Prix of the 2021 season, in Portimao. However, the eight-time world champion was still not physically at his best.
In addition to this, he found himself dealing with an RC213V that the same Honda riders have called “critical” on several occasions. This further complicated the # 93’s season, which after 13 races only won two, on both occasions on counterclockwise circuits – Sachsenring and Austin – which therefore affect his injured side less.
Despite everything, the Cervera driver is the best placed in the World Championship among the standard bearers of the Golden Wing (seventh) and is also the only one to be on the podium in 2021, even if it was not enough to avoid the second. consecutive dry season of titles for Honda.
A man who knows HRC well and also knows what it means to deal with a serious injury is Mick Doohan. In 1992, the Australian suffered a fracture in his right tibia that nearly cost him his leg. After he managed to recover, however, he became the ruler of the scene, taking five consecutive titles between 1994 and 1998, before another injury in early 1999 prompted him to retire.
“I think Marquez is not really in shape at the moment,” Doohan told the “In the Fast Lane” podcast. “I think the bike is a bit off the road too, the Honda is clearly not the bike it was before … Marc has just started to find strength in his right arm, so I think that was the problem.”
“The sport never expects anyone, it has been out for a long time and now runs practically every week,” he added.
Despite this situation, the former Australian rider is confident that Honda and Marquez can return to winning a title together.
“It is clear that he can ride, but he is no longer able to do it as before. But with the talent he has and if Honda can make the bike more consistent again, I think he definitely has the credentials to get back to fighting for the title, “he added.