A mixture of admiration and criticism, it is nevertheless a virulent attack that Wayne Rainey launched against Marc Marquez in an interview granted to Motorsport-Total.com.
Subject of the dispute, the 23 falls suffered by the world champion in 2018, which have absolutely no reason to exist, in the eyes of the triple American world champion.
Wayne Rainey : “I admire his motivation and his ability to go to the limit. If he makes a mistake, it's 95% going forward. If you compare the technology and safety, for example electronics or the four-stroke to a two-stroke, I think the motorcycle is more predictable than in my time. A guy who falls as often as Marquez usually doesn't get up as often.
There used to be more people flying away, but these days it's rare. If it happens, it's still a violent fall. But Marquez believes in him. He's sure he won't fall. But he falls more often than anyone else in this category, and as a world champion, that's something that makes no sense.
In fact, the best pilot is not the one who falls the most, because in general, we get injured. But for now, he's not hurting himself. I love the way he drives. It's very exciting. But I hope he gets back up every time he falls.
Like I said, as a world champion, you are the best. You're the one everyone's chasing. By taking these risks, he shows others that he is not afraid. But I'm not sure this strategy is the smartest. Personally, I think there is no need to exceed the limit so often that you fall 23 times a year. It doesn't make sense to me. »
I think he needs to improve that. Because if he keeps making so many mistakes, he won't get back up as quickly. I think he's so good he doesn't have to drive like that. He doesn't have to take that risk. I don't think it's necessary, especially when you're a world champion. I hope that with his experience he will find out one day.
Sometimes it's good not to look for the last tenth of a second, since it's usually three or four tenths of a second faster than the others anyway. He would then only have a two-tenths lead instead of three. But he would have more control. I think it’s more important to be two tenths faster and finish the lap than to be three tenths faster but not finish the lap.”
Should we remember that of the 23 falls suffered by Marc Marquez in 2018, 21 of them took place during testing, when the Honda driver actually reached the limit, but he only made a mistake 'twice in the race, at Mugello and in Valencia.
But beyond this observation, is it not obvious that Wayne Rainey, paralyzed since Misano 1993 following a highside, admires Marc Marquez and that he is simply afraid that he will meet his fate?
We can take the Yamaha rider's words in the first sense, as a severe criticism of the Spaniard's risk-taking, or in the second sense, as the proof of love of a father who berates his son. We obviously choose the latter solution.
