On this Friday June 18, 2021, Marc Marquez answered questions from journalists from the Sachsenring circuit, at the end of the first day of the German Grand Prix.
We went to listen (via teleconferencing software) to the words of the Spanish driver, who is racing this weekend on one of his favorite circuits. Author of the best time during the very first free practice session of the day, the Repsol Honda driver subsequently fell into line during FP2, still diminished by his physical condition.
As usual, we report here the words of Marc Márquez without the slightest formatting.
Marc, what are your feelings after this first day and has the fact of playing on a track with a majority of left turns helped you?
" I still doesn't drive very well. I think you can see from the pictures that my right elbow position is still very high. I still can't drive the way I want, but I've still managed to drive at a good pace so far. Tomorrow the idea will be to improve my driving. »
" I I'm not the favorite at the moment, because I'm coming back from injury. Today was only Friday, and if you look closely I didn't even put on a new tire at the end of the session because I felt like I didn't have the energy to use it. It was in the plans, but I told the team that I had done two runs to understand the behavior of the rear tire, while recognizing that I no longer had enough energy to try a new one. . »
« Je I'm not the favorite yet »
" I have fewer physical limitations than on other circuits but I still feel something. The positive side of all this is that we are managing to work well on the bike, and we have already figured out quite a few points. The pace is certainly good, but it's not the best at the moment. »
A few weeks ago you declared that as soon as you no longer felt competitive, you would stop, and that riding for 15 years in MotoGP was not your dream. A few days ago, Jorge Lorenzo also gave an interview where he stated very clearly that he had never competed because he liked to drive, but because he liked to win. What is your opinion on the subject?
" I have always said that I was here because I loved the flavor of podiums and victory. As soon as I feel that I am no longer competitive and that I am no longer able to fight at the front, then it will be time to reconsider the situation. But that's not the current situation: My current reality is that I'm faced with limitations, but I also have goals that give me extra motivation to drive the same way as in the past. »
"But It's true that if you have won many races and championships in the past and you are no longer winning, you need an additional source of motivation. I must say that I am very surprised and I find very respectable the way in which Valentino Rossi accepts his situation for example. He continues to drive but he also continues to enjoy it. But for my part, I have difficulty projecting myself into his situation. »
Can you tell us more about the position of your right arm. How can you hope to fix this? Is it purely related to a lack of muscle power?
"This What all the doctors told me was that after three surgeries on the humerus it was possible to have a rotation at that level. They also told me that it took time to get back in order, about a year. In the meantime, it is the muscles that compensate for this lack of mobility. »
« The doctors told me it would take a year for everything to get back to normal »
" I have difficulties at this level at the moment but I still have a certain mobility. The thing is that I don't feel enough power and therefore I don't feel safe. In Montmeló I worked a lot on my arm position and I was able to make progress in that direction, but here with all these left turns that's not the case. »
MotoGP Sachsenring – Combined FP1 & FP2 results:
Classification credit: MotoGP.com
