Marc Márquez progresses “adequately” with a “conservative treatment” for his double vision problem, but it does not mean that the situation is no longer critical for the Repsol Honda rider. His condition is “favorable”, however, payback times remain a mystery and its presence in the next Sepang tests (dated February) continues to be up in the air. As in 2020, Márquez is paying the most negative part of the sport after eight years of successes.
The ruling out of a surgery, at least for the moment, gives a ray of hope in very difficult times for the ilerdense. Injuries continue to take their toll And although the vision problem is not a great setback for your physical condition, it is for your mental stability. He has not taken a motorcycle since November and, that, supposes a certain delay in its preparation while his rivals continue training during the winter. However, patience and rest are still the greatest of medicines and, in that, Casey Stoner understands him.
In statements to Motorsport-Total, the Australian ex-driver puts himself in the shoes of Marc Márquez. Despite having been away from competition for several years, the two-time world champion perfectly understands what Honda is going through because, seeing his situation, Stoner is reflected. In fact, he finds a common point in the Catalan mentality: “Injuries are part of the competition, but I think it was easy for Marc and me to put the idea aside.” For this reason, it is easy for him to understand the frustration that Cervera’s is going through and, he points out, that is normal after a period in which he does not raise his head due to the accumulation of falls and, consequently, of new injuries.
“We all make mistakes, we all attack too hard and we all fall. That is part of racing. You try to get the most out of yourself and the bike. You have to learn from it and don’t keep repeating these mistakes. That’s the most important thing, “Stoner emphasizes. And, in this 2021, Márquez has stayed very close to his record for falls: on his return to MotoGP, with four races less contested due to injuries, Marc closed the year with 22 accidents. Only five less than in 2017, where he reached 27 in a full season.
Your mindset doesn’t change
Despite everything, on his return to MotoGP, Márquez has shown that his mentality is still intact. And the previous numbers support it. An injury is mentally disruptive, but it was a matter of time to see Marc reach the limits again. In fact, a race was enough to see him fall again in Jerez, where he was injured almost a year before and, although respect has always been present, the fear still showed no signs of life. And that, Stoner, still with the mentality of a champion, also understands: “When I had a fall in a training session, nothing prevented me from going out again with the second bike. If the set-up was similar, he could usually go faster because he knew where he was making every mistake. I never cared. Of course I never wanted to crash, but my own mistakes didn’t bother me. “
However, he acknowledges that his situation and that of Márquez are not so similar, in part, because Stoner has never gone so long without taking a motorcycle due to injury: “Marc’s situation is different. He has a long recovery behind him with many complications.. Of course, that has an effect. It will take time for you to get back in shape physically and mentally. People always underestimate the time it takes to regain fitness. Muscles break down very quickly if they are not used. “
“There is nothing that can replace riding a MotoGP motorcycle, no matter how much you train. Not even a Superbike comes close to what you experience on a MotoGP bike. If you don’t ride, the specific muscles don’t develop. It takes time”, describes Stoner, pointing to another setback the HRC driver must fight on his return: Then there’s the fear of getting hurt like that again. It is impossible to imagine what Marc must go through. “ Alberto Puig, Repsol Honda team manager, already pointed it out: only Márquez knows what his real conditions are.