The signs the old Marquez is really back to trouble his MotoGP rivals

The fourth major operation Marc Marquez had on the right arm he badly broke in 2020 was very much the final frontier: it either worked or it didn’t, but as far as the six-time MotoGP world champion was concerned his career wouldn’t have lasted much longer without it.

In a truly gruesome operation, his right humerus bone was re-broken and then rotated 30 degrees back to its original position after it had shifted as much from three prior operations across 2020.

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That was at the end of May of this year, just after the Italian Grand Prix. Six races on the sidelines, Marquez returned at the Aragon Grand Prix. After steady rehabilitation, the humerus bone had healed sufficiently but the muscles in his right shoulder – which were a major issue last season – were still a question mark. But the only way to exercise those muscles sufficiently enough to ride a MotoGP bike is to do just that. And so after a successful two days of testing at Misano after the San Marino GP, Marquez came back full-time.

Through the Aragon/Japan/Thailand triple-header that marked his return, Marquez has scored more points – 24 – than Honda scored during the six races he was out. The fact he only outscored that by three is down to his retirement from the Aragon GP, when he had a moment going through Turn 3 and triggered a rear-ending from Fabio Quartararo – damage from which led to a second tangle with Takaaki Nakagami, which ultimately ruled Marquez out.

In Japan he qualified on pole in a wet session and finished the dry race a fighting fourth. And last weekend in Thailand, he narrowly missed the podium in fifth in the wet race – ultimately missing out on victory by just 2.9 seconds.

He’s now 34 points clear of the next-best Honda rider in the championship and could conceivably ensure top HRC runner status next time out in Australia. That speaks volumes of the problems Honda currently faces with its RC213V, but also just how good Marquez has been in getting the best out of a bike he has only ridden in eight of the 17 races run so far in 2022.

Such is the level of expectancy, most of the frontrunners spent the last three races insisting Marquez was among the strongest on race pace and would be a major factor in the victory battle. It led Ducati’s Jack Miller to make this comment: “Whether or not the fitness is there in his shoulder, it’s quite physical around here [at Motegi], a lot of hard braking, a lot of using your arms to try and keep yourself afloat. So, it will be interesting to see what he can do. Of course, he says it’s not [going to be a race he wins]. But he’s said that 1000 times before. So, it’s the boy who cried wolf.”

Marquez has scored more points in the last three races Honda did while he was absent

Photo by: Dorna

Since coming back Marquez has always been adamant that “now is not the time” to fight for podiums and wins. His goal is simply to build up bike fitness and, more crucially, help steer development of the 2023 bike.

Chances are, had last Sunday’s Thailand race been dry Marquez would have struggled to finish where he did. As part of a steady upward trajectory, Marquez has incrementally increased the physicality with which he approaches each session. From the off in Thailand he pushed hard, but come Sunday he admits the feeling was “horrible” in his right arm and the rain that arrived for the race threw him a lifeline.

“Honestly speaking, today the rain conditions saved my life,” Marquez said after the Thailand race. “It was the first weekend where I approached the weekend full attack from FP1, and I was riding as you saw on TV; aggressive, moving the bike, [managing] some shaking, saving the crashes.

"It was like in 2019, or 2018. I was pushing all the laps in the practice. The problem was the last two years I couldn’t, because if I pushed all the laps then I couldn’t arrive on Sunday in a good way" Marc Marquez

“But today I got up and the arm was very stiff. In the warm-up the feeling was horrible, but then I worked in the Clinica and in the race I was able to race in a good way. There was not any limitations on the physical condition. But we cannot forget that it’s working well, it’s inside the normal steps in rehabilitation, especially when you do three races in a row in your comeback.”

The fact he came to Sunday in the state he did, however, was the first major signal that the ‘old Marquez’ who dominated MotoGP seemingly so effortlessly prior to 2020 really is back.

FP1 in Thailand was like rewinding the clock, as Marquez got his Honda loose under braking and on acceleration, making many errors – including a crash at Turn 3 – and still producing the lap time. Then in FP2, he was much more measured and controlled as he understood the limits of the bike better. And though his muscles still need to time to rebuild their strength, he no longer has any pain in the bone. 

But the biggest thing was how he approached time attack. From the moment he came back for the first time in Portugal in 2021, Marquez had to use riders as references to get the best out of his one-lap runs. This caused much ire with several of his rivals, and it was a tactic Marquez himself didn’t like deploying. But the physical limitations of his arm necessitated it.

Marquez isn't ready to win yet, but he says he can ride like he did before the injury

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

In Thailand, however, he did his qualifying laps on his own as he progressed from Q1 to Q2, putting his bike eighth on the grid after making a mistake at the last corner of his final flyer. While it may only seem like a small step, it shows Marquez now has enough confidence in his arm to be able to ride in his natural style.

Commenting on this on Friday at Buriram, Marquez said: “I said to my team: I said I used many lives. It was like in 2019, or 2018. I was pushing all the laps in the practice. The problem was the last two years I couldn’t, because if I pushed all the laps then I couldn’t arrive on Sunday in a good way.

“Now, ok, maybe I will not arrive on Sunday in the best performance because of a lack of muscle. But not because it’s painful. So today I attacked. I attacked from the first run, I crashed in the second but it was a stupid mistake. But I got out and I attacked and my way to find the limit is in FP1 is make many mistakes and then put everything in the correct position. And then in FP2 I was already more consistent. But it’s the same riding style like in the past – still not [fully] like the past, but it’s coming better and better.”

Having felt “big steps” in his physical condition across the triple-header, it really does look like the past two years are fading away and Marquez is nearing the light at the end of an arduously long tunnel.

The only limitation for him now seems to be the bike…

With the old Marquez coming back, can Honda now provide him with a package to match?

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images