The last Grand Prix of Qatar which opened the 2019 MotoGP season marked the official return of those injured from the winter and last campaign. For the majority of them, convalescence can be considered validated. Marc Márquez almost no longer felt after his delicate shoulder operation, the scaphoid was in a tolerable state for a Lorenzo who then experienced other misfortunes while the recovery of Cal Crutchlow was so obvious that he shone on the last step of the podium at the finish of the Losail meeting. End of series ? No. There was also the Rabat case, the oldest on the list. And for him, suffering is always on the agenda.
Getting injured in a motorcycle competition also means putting your career on the line. And launching into a merciless fight against time, nature and pain to recover your strength. Tito Rabat knows something about it since his accident at Silverstone. A turn made impassable after a biblical downpour highlighting the disastrous state of the poorly resurfaced track, a violent fall then being hit by another motorcycle in distress... The life of the Avintia rider suddenly changed in one afternoon of August 2018.
The 2014 Moto2 World Champion was evacuated with a triple compound fracture of his leg. The rest he explains himself: “ the injury was very serious and I then experienced difficult times » remembers the winner of thirteen Grands Prix. “ It's very difficult when you still can't get up a month after the crash. I didn't know if I would ever be able to run again because nothing was working. The second month was also bad, because it seemed like nothing was moving. It was only during the third month that I was finally able to get back on the bike, but it was only to be in pain. ».
Discount is however there and in this Qatar Grand Prix, he qualified eighteenth to finish the race nineteenth, 23s behind the winner still in reprieve Dovizioso. He also fell during the meeting, the kind of antics he must avoid due to his still precarious state… “ Of course, it's always a bigger problem when I fall, because it can cause further injury. But other than that, it's okay. I'm ready and I'm happy with the progress I've made » he ends on speedweek.
Rabat knows that he must show an improvement in his performances this year if he wants to continue to be involved in the premier category in the future: “for the first time in my career in MotoGP, the three elements are aligned: I have a good bike, an excellent team and a solid team! This year I have to take a step forward and catch up with the leading group. I have to regularly be in the top ten and fight against those in front, and then I'll be back next year ».
This season will therefore be that of a fight which continues. The game is worth it since the team Avintia aims for satellite team status in 2021. Probably with Suzuki.