If someone understands perfectly what they are going through Marc Márquez, is someone who has been through the same situation. Wanting and not being able to do things the way you like. Not only because of the state of his injury, but also because, upon his return last April in Portimao, The from ilerdense found a totally different motorcycle from the RC213V with which he was crowned champion in 2019. A year later, and with him out of competition for the entire season, HRC took an opposite direction, very critical and to which he is still adjusting. Or at least understand it.
And it is that the champion himself has already commented: When you ride the way you like it, it goes to the ground. Not by the strength of his arm, which is getting bigger, if not because Honda does not accept the limits that the 2019 Marc already had marked. For this reason, he has only won two races so far this year (Sachsenring and the United States), in addition to a podium (Aragon) and, even with everything, being the best of the Japanese brand’s drivers in the general driver classification. . He is seventh, even having played two fewer races (Those from Qatar, to which he only traveled to receive the vaccine).
But the situation of Marc Márquez is not an isolated case. History always repeats itself and, in this case, Mick Doohan knows exactly what Cervera is going through. In fact, the Australian has always been a great support to Marc, sharing the odd phone chat during his time off the track, at his time of greatest concern about whether he would ever win races again. And it is that, the five times world champion already told him, that only it was a matter of time, patience and, above all, work.
Doohan knows what it’s like to be frustrated by not running your way. The Australian, one of the great champions of the Repsol Honda Team, fractured his right tibia in 1992. A very serious injury that, in fact, nearly cost him his leg if it weren’t for Doctor Costa, who saved his leg and, therefore, his sports career at the highest level. His recovery took time, like Marc’s, but, on his return, He won five premier-class titles, in a row, from 1994 to 1998. The clear example of overcoming. Because he, like Márquez, had to adapt to a Honda and a totally new handling.
Doohan is confident in his recovery
“I think Márquez is really not in shape at the moment,” explained Mick Doohan during his speech the podcast In the Fast Lane. “I think the bike has also drifted a bit. The Honda is clearly not the bike it was before … Marc is just beginning to have some strength in his right arm, so I think that was the problem. “And one thing is clear in a high-level competition: “Sport never waits for anyone, he was away for a long time and the drivers, they are competing week after week. “
However, Doohan is confident that Márquez and Honda, together, will once again be the tandem winner who was for years, leading the MotoGP World Championship with hardly any rivals. Because, you know, that Marc will follow the path that one day he had to travel with his leg injury: “It is clear that he knows how to drive, but he is not capable of doing it as before. But with the talent that he has and if Honda can make the bike consistent again, it may need to soften up a bit, I think he certainly has the credentials to be able to aspire to another title. “