The long silence on Marc Marquez’s physical condition was interrupted last night by a press release from Honda announcing the fact that the rider had returned to training on the bike. This novelty in the recovery of the eight-time world champion represents a glimmer of hope in seeing him back on track soon, perhaps even during the next winter tests.
Marc Marquez also took part in the conference organized by the Repsol Honda team today, in which he spoke firsthand about his recovery path and how he feels physically and mentally. His presence in the pre-season tests, scheduled at the beginning of February between Sepang and Mandalika, is still not sure, but he certainly confirms that he has made great strides forward in terms of sight, slowly resolving the diplopia that had him. hit last October when he fell during training.
“Obviously I’m very happy – Marquez begins talking about his recovery – because the last three months have been difficult, vision problems are always annoying. But I get better and better and start to feel better. Since I had the accident with the enduro bike it was tough, but from the first time I followed the advice of my doctors, especially the one who had already fixed my sight in 2011. The process was very slow, but we know the injury affected the nerve, the same as the 2011 injury and it has been tough ever since. In the last month, especially in the last few weeks, I have felt some improvement. I made some visits and what I felt was confirmed by the result, I was very happy ”.
The Cervera rider received the doctors’ okay to go back to training and the goal is clearly to be present at the tests: “The doctor allowed me to start riding the bike, and I chose the dirt bike, which is the one I hurt myself with and is also the most challenging. You have to be precise, there are leaps, ups and downs and you have to have the full view. The result was very positive and now I’m looking forward to the next step. The team is organizing a test with a CBR1000 or perhaps the RC213V-S. Let’s see if we can do it soon and try on a MotoGP circuit ”.
However, his presence in Sepang is not yet confirmed and Marquez aims to be there in the conditions he wants: “Before confirming that I will be in Malaysia, I want to try and do some tests on a GP circuit, to be sure that when I start the pre-season I’ll be ready to do a normal season. Obviously, if I ride a motorcycle it’s because I have perfect eyesight and it doesn’t seem like surgery is needed. But at the moment I’m just following the advice of the doctors and we want to see in a GP circuit, at high speed, with a test day with many laps and see how tired I will be at the end of the day. The doctors will evaluate many things before giving me the ok to do the tests in Malaysia. As for the arm, on the other hand, it is improving a lot, but we have to understand the way we work during the season so as not to have the same problems as last year ”.
However, Marc Marquez’s difficult winter is just the umpteenth in a long series: the multiple world champion in fact has been fighting for four winters against physical problems, which have conditioned him in the preparations of recent seasons: “It is the fourth winter in which I find myself to fight with physical problems. When I felt better in 2021 I had won at Misano and Austin, but mentally this was one of the most difficult moments of my career. I came out of recovery from an injury and fell into another injury. It is something I do not wish on anyone, but now I feel much better. Since I got injured, my goal has always been to be at the first test and the first race. But you have to proceed step by step because sight is a serious matter and you have to be careful “.
“Clearly recovering from an injury like this is special – continues Marc – Sight is something you either see or don’t see. It is an on-off. Starting from this assumption, I am the first who wants to race the day after an injury. But experience, and this particular case in which I had already passed in 2011, makes me understand that it cannot be said. Doctors never gave me a deadline for recovery. They didn’t know either, so it was complicated, but slowly things got better. But with an injury like this it’s all on the table, an operation, the timing and even the possibility of not being able to drive anymore. It’s difficult because you don’t know your future, but especially in the last month I felt better and better and started cycling, then mountain biking and the sensations were always better ”.
Finally, Marquez goes into detail and explains what happened the day he had the accident in training that brought back his diplopia, a vision problem he already suffered in 2011: “The day of the accident I went to the nearby circuit my home to train. In the last two laps I crashed and capsized and hit my head. But then and there I didn’t pay too much attention to it, I got up, continued and then I finished training. When I got home I took a shower and after about three hours I started feeling weird, I couldn’t see well and I called the doctor right away, who initially reassured me by telling me that the first week could be normal. But after the first week we realized that the problem was still there, so we gave the communication with some delay. The doctors told me that if he didn’t fix himself in the first few weeks, it would be long. But it’s the risk you run when you train, that’s always there. If you sit on the sofa, you will never be the best in the world ”.
Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda Team
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
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