“I work to see a different version of Marc, better or worse, that uses the experience”
BARCELONA, 25 Dic. (EUROPA PRESS) –
MotoGP rider Marc Márquez (Repsol Honda) assured that after his injury, in the last four rounds of the 2022 World Championship, there were “flashes” of the aggressive and winning rider he was before his long ordeal with his shoulder and added that this is his ‘DNA’ and that he struggles to see it emerge again and have a different version of himself that uses his ‘prior experience’.
In an interview with Europa Press, the eight-time world champion (six in MotoGP) assured that the glimpses of the winning Marc were already seen at the end of 2022 and he predicts a 2023 in which he can fight for what would be his ninth title.
“It was seen in the four races after the injury, that he was a little better physically, I was beginning to see flashes of that Marc (fighter and aggressive), my ‘DNA’ is that and I’m going to work on that to even see a different version, better or worse, use experience”, he assured.
In these last rounds of the 2022 World Cup, the Catalan rider signed fourth place in Japan, fifth in Thailand, second place in Australia and seventh in Malaysia, while he could not finish the last test in Cheste (Valencia) due to a fall despite the good feelings.
He recognized that throughout a sports career progress is made through different stages and that, in each new one that opens, it is good to take advantage of the best of the previous ones. “You go by stages, by times. At 30 you don’t face a career or a championship in the same way as at 20. You have to know how to use the experience, too,” he reiterated.
Thus, he is confident that he will be able to celebrate the improvements that can come from Honda on the 2023 bike. A “single bullet” that he will see in the February test of next year. “We risked everything with one bullet because the November test (of 2022) did not work as expected,” he acknowledged.
“Honda is reacting, I trust one hundred percent in them, I am preparing myself as I understand that I have to do it to aspire to win the World Cup. Then, when the new bike is tested, it will be seen where we are and where the rivals put us Because sometimes you improve but the rival improves more,” he said.
Of course, the Catalan is clear that the patience and mutual trust between Honda and him continue to be at the highest level. “My level of confidence in Honda is still 100 percent, just like they have in me,” he opened up.
In addition, he was sympathetic to the substance of the problem in the Japanese giant. “In Honda the crisis began when I was seriously injured, before we had been winning for four years, in 2019 practically sweeping. Then I got injured and their leading driver was not on the track and that’s where the complications began. But I trust Honda a lot, they have respected me a lot this time. They trust me and my objective is to return to the highest level to aspire to the maximum together with Honda”, he explained.
Regarding Joan Mir, world champion with Suzuki and who will be his new teammate in the Repsol Honda Team, he celebrated his arrival. “When a new teammate comes along, you are always curious to know how he is going to do. Especially since he comes from riding another motorcycle, and winning races and doing well. He will ride the same motorcycle, there is curiosity, but other teammates like Pedrosa have passed or Lorenzo, important names, and it is clear that the competitiveness within the box makes the level on the track grow a bit”, celebrated the man from Cervera.
