Marc Márquez stopped by Madrid on his return from the MotoGP test at the new Indonesian Mandalika circuit. He attended the presentation of the documentary ‘MotoGP unlimited’ and had time to attend Larguero de la Cadena SER and AS from a central hotel in what is now his new city of residence. He does it to keep his shoulder cool the entire course.
-How are you?
-Well, the truth is that well. Smiling again, which is important after two years hitting rock bottom. It’s time.
-Can you say that Marc has returned?
-You can tell that Marc is coming back. I will really come back when the level on the track is back to what it was before. Until 2019 I touched the sky, it was the peak moment of an athlete and now I have had to experience the other side of the coin, which is injuries. You walk into one, you walk out, you walk into another and now it seems that the light at the end of the tunnel shines a little brighter.
Have you ever lost your smile?
Well, pain changes your character. This is something that has never happened to me before. It is not the situation or the uncertainty, that you do not have a good time with this. Last year, for example, I was competing in the World Cup, but with pain and discomfort, which changed my character and everyone around me suffered.
-Who do you pay with?
-I never got tired of apologizing, but they understood. I told them to excuse me, because when I was in pain my character changed and I was less receptive to everything.
-What hurt you the most on the bike?
– It goes by seasons. In the three arm operations, you suffer, but more than pain is the uncertainty of what will happen. Once you come back and see that you can’t, there is the psychological and mental pain, which is hard to accept. I did a super fast exercise, for which the environment helped me, which was to see the reality of the moment. Do not create expectations that did not touch. All this helped me get out of that rut and, when I was already coming out, with two consecutive victories and it seemed that everything was going well, because in a training session I fell and relapsed from a vision injury, which has had me a winter with the fear in the body
-Is double vision the worst thing that can happen to a pilot?
-Double vision is much worse than a bone injury with pain, because in an arm injury you have a plan and you see that it is improving, that there is a progression and they always tell you that, with time, it will heal. But a double vision, you know what comes to you because I already had it in 2011 and when you go to the doctor, Dr. Bernat Sánchez, who has been very sincere and very honest at all times, presents you with the three scenarios and tells you: “Let’s go to wait three months. If it doesn’t heal, there is an operation that will be three more times. And if with that operation it doesn’t go, well boy, maybe you don’t have a vision left to ride a motorcycle again but to lead a normal life. ” When you already see double vision and you can’t lead a normal life, sporting things take a backseat.
-When the doctor tells you that, at some point have you come to fear the worst?
-When the doctor tells you that, at some point you cry alone in a room, because you know what comes to you, what can happen. No matter how optimistic you are and want to ride a motorcycle and get out of the pothole, you are realistic. It’s fucked up, speaking clearly, not being able to lead a normal life and having this uncertainty. The same doctor says that it is a miracle that after two and a half or three months my vision has been cured and I have not had any sequelae.
-Is incredible.
–(Smile). Someone has said that he had to pass and that he had to be perfect. I have done everything that they have asked me, whether to go to this physio or this osteopath, whether this treatment… I have tried everything. By desire it was not going to be.
-These two years have made you stronger?
-It would be just as strong without having passed it. He would rather not have passed it. Yes, it makes you see another perspective and mature in a different way. And understand the sport also a little differently. Always with the same dedication, but already taking more care of the body and not going so much with your eyes closed. Think about it all a little more before saying things. These are life experiences.
-Are we going to continue seeing the same Marc Márquez, with the same aggressiveness that he had?
-My intention is not to repeat the same Márquez but an evolution. Finding the same Márquez maybe I can’t or maybe I can, but it’s an evolution and my goal, either way, pedaling or swimming, is to fight for a World Cup. This is very clear to me. Even if it’s on pedals, I want to fight for a World Cup. This is my intention and I am working and making very big changes in my life, to try to fight this 2022. Perhaps from the beginning it does not start in the best way, but the year is very long.
-At some point is there fear when you ride the motorcycle at 300 because of what has happened?
-If there is fear, I would not be thinking of fighting for a World Cup or competing. If you feel fear or doubt and you see the fall, get off and leave your place to someone else.
-He looks good and it seems that the shoulder is also recovered…
-Good good.
-How about the new Honda? It seems that it is already for all audiences because Pol has led with her in the Mandalika test.
-It’s very different. It is the biggest change that there has been while I was at Honda, and I have been here for ten years, which is fast. In a brand like Honda, when you are winning, no matter how critical the bike is, it is difficult to make big changes. As until 2019 they were winning, not very big changes were made to the bike, but it is true that these last two years I have not been practically in the team and there has been a lack of results. This has caused Honda to make a big change to find solutions. It is a motorcycle that, from the outset, does not adapt naturally to my style.
-Why?
-I need other things. I need to feel the front end a lot and it is a bike that is ridden more with the rear end. In the first practice, I didn’t touch anything and tried to understand the bike. Already in the second, I began to bring it to my field, to what I need to go fast. There is no perfect bike but you have to adapt and the team has to help you make the most of it.
-It is a market year for everyone except you, who renewed until 2024. Who would you like to be your partner?
-Honda has to choose the one that is stronger. I have never commented on my teammate nor have I vetoed or forced. In fact, when Pedrosa retired, Lorenzo came, who a priori had to be an uncomfortable teammate, but things did not work out for him. Then they believed that Pol would have the level and I think that this year he will be a candidate for the title because of how he has done the preseason. We will see. It’s not up to me. I have three more years left on my contract and my goal is, whoever my teammate is, to beat him.
-As bad as these two years have been, it has the positive side that if it wins the World Cup again it will be even more epic. What do you think you need to one day be the best in history?
-I’m doing everything and more to get back to the level I was at. One issue is the arm, which I have to continue taking care of. In fact, with Dr. Samuel Antuña, we decided to get in touch with Dr. Ángel Cotorro, who is the doctor of Rafa Nadal and the tennis team, because he has a very good team of physios and physical trainers, to get the most out of this shoulder. I know that it will be my Achilles point during the year and I know that I have to take good care of it. Personally, I have made a big sacrifice, which is that I am moving to Madrid for the whole of 2022 for this, to put all the meat on the grill. I trust them. They will keep my shoulder fresh all season and I go with everything. I love my Cervera very much and I have lived there all my life, but we come here, to continue with the same lifestyle but with this group of doctors to fight for a World Cup again, to go for the ninth.
Is your mother coming too?
-My mother will come more than you think… although she has already told me that she stays at home. I have taken the house on the outskirts, so that the center is far away, since I have been told that there is a lot of bad life around here. I calm down, and I have already located the circuits.
-It will be the first World Cup without Rossi. Will you miss him?
-I don’t get along with Valentino, you know, but I have no problem admitting that without him MotoGP loses an important icon and a rider who attracted a lot of the public, but MotoGP continues. There are new generations and I am the first to have to reinvent myself, so that they don’t take me off the grid. Life goes on. Very great pilots have withdrawn, but it is true that the impact of Valentino was very great. The championship will surely continue with the same interest and the same spectacle on the track. What the fan wants to see is overtaking and a show, which he is assured of. He will be missed in the first few races, but this goes on, and when the lights go out in Qatar, people will be waiting to see who wins. There is Quartararo, Bagnaia and many pilots.
-Well, congratulations, it’s already February 17 and that’s your birthday.
-29 years already, who would say.
-It will be necessary to see ‘MotoGP Unlimited’, the Amazon documentary that they have presented.
-Yes. MotoGP wants to grow and open up on other platforms such as Amazon and see us from the inside and our intimacies because it is beautiful and the fans appreciate it.
-Does Xavi’s Barça look good?
-I see him better, but there is work to do. It doesn’t change from one day to the next. The problem with sport is that you’re at the top and bad things can come from one day to the next. But to go from bad to good there is a job ahead. I wish the best for my Barça, although there is work ahead.
We are glad to see you so well. Good luck.
-Thanks a lot.