English
Italiano
Marc Marquez is no longer the same as he was in 2019. That does not necessarily mean that he is a better or worse rider today, but simply that he is no longer the phenomenon capable of riding over the problems of his Honda by destroying in turn his rivals and teammates. The Spaniard stopped being that Marc at Jerez in 2020, when at the height of a powerful comeback he asked too much of a perhaps still unsorted bike, which punished him by hitting him on the arm and wounding his pride.
Two years have gone by since that wretched day and things have not only been improving for Marquez, who has gone through three surgeries, a huge amount of physiotherapy, only to fall back into the nightmare of double vision in November. There has also been a series of unfortunate events, as they say, which certainly would not have left anyone unscathed and which did not spare even the eight-time world champion.
Yet, at least according to his words, Marc was ready to try his hand at the track in 2022 with a different, more conservative approach. A different way of racing made necessary by his physical conditions, far from perfect. His right arm and in particular his shoulder forced him to ride in a position that is not entirely natural and with the fear that a crash with an impact in that area could have catastrophic consequences on a fracture that took too long to heal, creating a series of collateral problems in his right shoulder which has already been battered in the past. Do you remember Scott Redding's pat on the back that made his shoulder ‘pop out' after his victory at Motegi in 2018? Marc does, all too well…
Marquez's right arm is fragile, his shoulder even more so
The real problem today is perhaps linked to the double vision that occurred in November after his crash on an enduro. Luckily no surgery was needed to put things right and Marc was able to get back on his Honda in Malaysia. The doctors who treated him were very clear and the rider himself admitted candidly that he now has a real weakness in the nerve of his right eye. A sort of small time bomb, ready to explode in case of further violent impacts.
A condition that would have convinced many riders to stop, with the real risk of gambling on their eyesight, or at least an optimal one, at the not venerable age of 29 and with a bank account enriched by several zeros. But Marc Marquez does not fall into the category of riders who give up and has chosen to continue, accepting, at least in words, his new condition. Now we can tell, after seeing how he rode during the Mandalika weekend. His words were just words, it was just a way to convince himself that he could change his skin like a chameleon, transforming himself from the role of an all-for-nothing rider to an accountant on two wheels, willing to take risks, but not to give everything.
Perhaps Marc was able to really have this approach only in Qatar, where from a certain point of view he appeared almost compliant in duels and was beaten both by his teammate Pol and by his brother Aleix Espargarò, who was able to get by with his Aprilia, relegating him to an opaque fifth place. A result that Marc obviously did not accept and that he decided to overturn in Indonesia, where it became clear how drastically his approach has changed.
At Mandalika Marquez wanted to win
From Friday at Mandalika it became clear that the tires brought by Michelin would not adapt to the Honda as had happened in the tests, but Marc did not accept this situation and ran into a number of mistakes. He lost the rear of his RC213V several times, also giving the photographers some great shots, and then lost the front. But it was on Saturday that Marc finally took off the mask. The two crashes in Q1 explain the situation very clearly. While losing the front is all well and good, given also the lack of confidence between Marc and the 2022 version of his V4, the high side that occurred after was something very different.
In the same run, Marc had already lost the rear of his Honda once, but rather than dialling it down a couple of notches and agree to do another GP as a supporting actor, all his ‘cannibal’ instincts emerged, all the determination that over the years has allowed him to steamroller his way to race wins and titles. He chose to keep pushing hard and exactly what was not supposed to happen happened. A very violent crash, an impact with the asphalt that caused a head injury and the real risk of having at the very least excessively stressed his already weakened eye nerve.
The early information reported that Marc fortunately was able to see perfectly immediately after the accident, but even in November the double vision did not manifest itself immediately, taking a few days to negatively make an appearance, then forcing the Spaniard into a long stop which clearly penalized his winter preparation for the season. Obviously we all hope that the problem does not arise, but the point is another, which is that if Marc continues not to accept having to race without giving 110%, a more serious problem could arise.
Accepting that you are human when you know you are a phenomenon
In short, it is a question of accepting that he is no longer the phenomenon of 2019, but a different rider who probably has to rebuild his own identity on the track. He must accept that continuing to take certain risks at every GP can lead him to pay a price too high. A really complex situation to digest for the rider who has gone from the role of dominator of MotoGP to a special observer at every Grand Prix. When he gets back on the bike, his confidence will have been undermined by that crash, but continuing to push to the limit with the risk of making further mistakes could be fatal especially from a psychological point of view. In short, Marc has to accept having to start over if not from scratch, at least from a different base. Otherwise the idea of becoming a phenomenon will have to be abandoned. It is like a long and difficult path in which Marquez must learn to lose, he must accept that he cannot start every GP with the idea of winning.
In short, he needs to accept his vulnerability, which today is undeniably present every time he gets on the bike. He probably needs to take this small step back before he can aspire to return to being the steamroller of 2019. In short, an act of great maturity that Marc must necessarily take to put an end to a steady stream that has been dragging on for too long. His talent is still there and maybe without the two crashes on Saturday, Sunday with the rain he would have won. In short, Marc must be patient, because it will take time to become a phenomenon again. All he has to do is accept it.
