Six-time MotoGP champion Marc Marquez admits he is still “far from a good way” with his right arm on his quest to return to full fitness after a long absence.
This weekend’s French Grand Prix will mark the third race of the Spaniard’s injury comeback, and though he’d finished both the previous two races in the top 10, he’s yet to recapture the same high-flying form that produced 16 wins in the 25 races that preceded his injury at Jerez last year.
And though part of that has had to do with the Honda RC213V bike being not the most competitive package right now, Marquez has also made it clear that he wouldn’t be in peak physical form for his return – and that prediction has come off.
The six-time champion continues to get fatigued on the bike and hasn’t been able to ride it the way he prefers to due to a lack of right arm muscle mass, while he is also not yet permitted to train on a bike between races.
“Last Wednesday I had the check with my doctors, the bone consolidation is going in a good way,” Marquez said.
“That means that from Jerez to Le Mans I was able to increase a bit the training on the gym, we’re starting to try to find a way to get more power, more muscle, on the right arm. And there, I feel, still is a big difference, and we are far from a good level. Big difference comparing left arm and right arm.
“I was optimistic always because I feel not bad training on the gym, but always I was training with low weight and I felt not bad, before Jerez. After Jerez, we started to work on the gym with heavier weights, just trying to work harder, and there I felt like still we are far from a good way on my arm. Still the difference is big.
“The feeling that I have on riding is normal. Maybe if everything is going well after Le Mans, I will be able to ride between races, and this also will be another step. But at the moment we haven’t decided yet.
“Last week I was training harder on the gym, the reaction of the body was okay.
“We need time. We don’t have time, but we need time.”
The 16-point haul from Portimao and Jerez leaves Marquez 50 adrift of championship leader Francesco Bagnaia – but Le Mans could present an opportunity to bolster the Spaniard’s tally if predictions of rain come to fruition.
“Of course in one side I would like to ride on the dry because like this I continue on my evolution, on my personal rehabilitation, and the best way is on dry conditions.
“In another hand, wet conditions, you never know, it’s more a lottery. Of course the limit what I have now, riding on dry conditions, is about physical condition.
“It’s true that wet conditions are less demanding physically, so this can help – but on the other hand my position on the bike is also not the same like always.”
