The pandemic forced the 2020 edition to be postponed, but with a much better situation, Álex Márquez has been able to open the doors of the sixth edition of the Allianz Junior Motor Camp from the Rufea circuit (Lleida). The weather is not very good, in fact, the rain left the motocross circuit almost impractical, having to improvise another one very close so that the 20 children could ride with the motorcycle this Friday morning and not lose a minute of this unique experience with a two-time world champion.
Despite the setbacks, the LCR Honda rider could not have been more delighted, especially since “being here is a great success after the pandemic.” Although not in full, because registration has been closed to Spain and Andorra, still layered by health measures. Still, it’s time to enjoy after a very difficult year for Honda: “Disconnecting these three days is a pleasure, this is my vacation.” Not even the rain slows them down.
Of course, the figure of his brother is missing, Marc Márquez, which is still focused on his new episode of diplopia (double vision). Although he follows everything very closely, without wanting to lose detail: “Well, he’s at home. He will have already sent me 50 messages to see how the children are doing. It is keeping rest, as it should be. Taking care of the dogs, so at least he does something (laughs). You can’t wait to be here, but you need rest and repose. With patience everything will be solved. “
But in the face of so much uncertainty, he does not dare to give deadlines either. The next date is marked at Christmas for a new review and, from there, there will be more details to know which way is the indicated one to follow: “It is not a bone, it is not something of which the deadline is known exactly. It is a nerve and it is more complicated, you have to be patient. Emotionally it goes at times. It’s okay, positive, resting, eating meals with friends, and somehow trying to disconnect from the world. In Jerez he was calling me constantly and before going he told me four things. It is focused on next year, the important thing is that it comes back as soon as possible. But it is an injury in which you have to be patient and wait. As Alberto (Puig) said by Christmas, he will know exactly where the injury is progressing. You have to be by his side, which is the most important thing. “
The Honda already excites
A 2022 in which not only Marc already thinks because, a week after finishing the Jerez tests, Alex already speaks of ‘illusion’ for the new course. And, that, gives hope to Honda that it seems that it is already close to leaving its most critical years. “We were in Jerez, I tested the 2022 prototype. I’m excited. It is a very new motorcycle, a totally different concept which for Honda is good. Right from the start, the base is good and there is a lot of potential, that’s the positive. All the drivers, in the comments, were quite in agreement on what we have to work on. That is the important thing, that HRC has clear priorities and a goal. They are the first to want to win again. “
And it doesn’t look very far from the other brands. They feel confident and, for the first time in a long time, they feel they are on the right track after a “not very good” season and where “much more was expected”: “I don’t think Honda is a brand that starts at a disadvantage, I think it’s the other way around. It will be the one that, from one year to the next, will change the most because we have changed the concept of motorcycles. to a totally different one. A great job has been done from HRC. You have to understand that bike, in which way you have to continue working. The other was a base from many years ago, which had touched the ceiling a bit with the evolutions of the others being one step ahead. Something more potential. From the beginning the times are competitive and that is important. “
