Thursday, July 4, 2024, 6:39 p.m.
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Three years ago, on the Sachsenring circuit, Marc Márquez put an end to what was until then his worst streak without winning in the World Championship. He had gone 581 days without tasting victory, after going through a real ordeal with his fractured right humerus that forced him to spend the whole of 2020 on the sidelines and part of the following year. But in 2021, when he was still suffering from the after-effects of his injury and the Honda was already showing signs of being an exhausted project, his harmony with the German track allowed him to return to the top of a podium, one of the most emotional in his sporting career.
No one was surprised when he ended his drought at the Saxony ring (literal translation of Sachsenring), the circuit where he has traditionally dominated with the most authority. You only need to look at his record. Between 2010 and 2019 he added up all his participations to victories (one in 125 cc, two in Moto2 and the other seven in MotoGP). The following season the German Grand Prix was not held due to the pandemic and in 2021 came that emotional victory mentioned above. Márquez skipped the 2022 race because he was still convalescing from his last operation (the fourth) on his right arm and he met the German track again in 2023… an unfortunate memory for him.
After another unforgettable start to the season, Márquez was seeking redemption at Sachsenring, but the weekend was a real torture for him. The Honda knocked him off his feet five times and, after his final fall on Sunday in the warm-up lap, with his body bruised by the blows and mentally exhausted, he decided not to compete in the race. It was the beginning of the end of his relationship with the Japanese brand. The rider from Cervera recalled on Thursday at Sachsenring everything that happened last year: “That weekend I learned as a person to accept reality and set realistic goals. Sometimes they may seem prudent, but they are realistic. If you set unattainable goals you will hit a wall, one, two, three, four and five times, like what happened to me last year.”
The current situation of Márquez has nothing to do with it, having left his time at Honda behind and begun a new and exciting chapter at Ducati, which has made him smile again. The rider from Lleida is once again among the contenders for the MotoGP title and every weekend he is a candidate for a victory that still eludes him. This Sunday it will have been 987 days since Marc Márquez’s last MotoGP win and if he doesn’t triumph in his home at Sachsenring the number will be a thousand years old as the next Grand Prix is in Silverstone in August. Although it is not something that keeps him up at night: “A thousand days is a long time. I didn’t expect so many and we will try to put a stop to it as soon as possible. We have a chance here, but if we don’t get it, the world won’t end either, we have half a season ahead of us to keep trying.”
Acosta’s last chance
It’s hard to arrive at Sachsenring without Márquez being the favourite, but at this stage of the season Jorge Martín and Pecco Bagnaia are performing at an excellent level, especially the Italian rider, who has scored double wins in the last two rounds at Mugello and Assen. The Madrid native is still at the top of the standings, although he only has a ten-point lead over his rival (he had 44 at one point), and it is also in his favour that, precisely at Sachsenring, in 2023, he won on both Saturday and Sunday. “The level this year is even higher and it will be a great challenge to beat Pecco and Marc, but I feel like a better rider than last year, so I see myself with a chance of repeating,” said Martín at a press conference.
Another rider who will be on everyone’s lips this weekend will be Pedro Acosta. This weekend he has the last chance to beat the record for the youngest victory in the premier class, which until now is held by Marc Márquez at 20 years and 63 days. “It’s the only question that everyone here is asking me,” said the Murcia native, who was very aware (unwillingly) of this record, and warned: “It’s going to be a different weekend to the previous two, because this is a track that we like and I think we can do well.”
Alex Rins will not be competing in the German Grand Prix, injured in his left wrist. He will be replaced by Australian rider Remy Gardner, who rides for Yamaha in the World Superbike Championship. Aleix Espargaro is in trouble, with a painful injury to the little finger of his right hand. He will test himself in practice this Friday and will see if he can compete for the rest of the weekend.
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2024-07-04 16:39:08
#Sachsenring #Marc #Márquezs #promised #land
