The war within taking its toll on MotoGP's king

Marc Marquez, who has earned the right to be considered one of the best riders in the history of MotoGP, has been living a nightmare for almost two years - from which he still does not know when he will wake up.

The worst omens were confirmed this Tuesday morning, when Honda informed through a statement that its talisman, the rider who has celebrated the Japanese brand's last six titles, will be out indefinitely until further notice. The chilling crash he suffered on Sunday at the Mandalika circuit, during the warm-up before the Indonesian Grand Prix, caused the diplopia (double vision) problems that had already left him unable to compete in the last two rounds of the 2021 campaign to return.

On that occasion, the nerve injury he had already sustained in 2011 - in his first year in Moto2 - was caused by an accident while practicing motocross. This time, the whole world was able to see the wild crash that slammed him down hard on the Mandalika asphalt, after being spat into the air by his bike while going through the Turn 7 right-hander at more than 180kph.

Marquez was visibly dazed when he got up from the gravel and was later taken to hospital, where he was diagnosed with a concussion and forced to miss the race. Ahead of the 2022 season, MotoGP modified its concussion protocols, with the Marquez crash seemingly its first big test.

Marquez, who since his debut in the premier class category back in 2013 had not missed any of the 127 subsequent rounds as he romped to all of his six world titles, has only been able to ride in 14 of the last 34 races. The statistic is conclusive, but even more so if we take into account that these 20 absences are the result of three accidents.

Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

The worst thing of all is not that he does not race, in a competition that after the departure of Valentino Rossi needs an icon like him. The problem is that, in one of those wild accidents, the rider from Cervera can be irreparably damaged. And that damage can live beyond simply when it comes to competing.

He said it recently, when he acknowledged that the hardest part of last winter was not the fact of not getting on the bike: "The sporting part was in the background. The worst thing was not being able to lead a normal life. I couldn't even go running or cycling," the Catalan reflected about his recovery from his last battle with diplopia.

After the nine months he spent away from the circuits due to the right arm fracture he suffered in Jerez in July 2020, the Spaniard stuck to a mantra that he repeated every time he was put in front of a microphone: "There are many races; there is only one body."

Marquez has ahead of him the most difficult exercise he has ever faced in his life. He must go against his own nature, that has given him everything but, as is becoming evident, can also take it away

But he is hot-blooded, the same blood that has given him the dimension he has as a sports star - a dimension that is now turning its back on him. On Saturday, during the first qualifying heat in Mandalika, he went to the ground twice in a window of less than seven minutes, and in two actions with almost identical dynamics.

Afterwards, he said, "The second crash I could have avoided, but I was on fire inside." This is a completely opposite message to the previous one he repeated about self-preservation, and it perfectly explains this unearthly character's DNA, which also betrayed him again on Sunday.

The expression most used by all Honda members in Lombok was, "this is not our weekend". Pol Espargaro, Marquez's team-mate in the Repsol Honda garage, left the pre-season test held at the same venue with the fastest time. Both he and his garage neighbour were two of the riders who showed the most speed and pace during the three days of testing.

Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

However, Michelin's decision to move to an older and more robust rear tyre construction not used since 2018 for the grand prix changed everything. The new 2022 Honda, specifically conceived to adapt to the new generation tyres in a bid to gain the rear traction it has spent years trying to find, became unstable and its riders began to suffer.

Espargaro was among the most critical of the French supplier's decision, which he considered completely "unfair" and was cutting in his response to Marquez's crash - before he knew of his team-mate's injury - that "if he did get injured this would be a consequence of an external partner’s bad choice this weekend.”.

Marquez complained less, but crashed more, up to four times in five sessions - the last one truly indicative of the rear grip problems Honda battled on the 2018 construction rear. Now Marquez has suffered as a direct consequence of the old tyre construction, the fallout from this will undoubtedly rage on as Honda demands answers.

No matter how much reasoning the multi-champion can contend with off the bike, when he perches upon the Honda he cannot change his approach - one that leads him to take risks, often too many.

If we take it for granted that he will return to racing as soon as he can, Marquez has ahead of him the most difficult exercise he has ever faced in his life. He must go against his own nature, which has given him everything but, as is becoming evident, can also take it away. It is something very difficult, like trying to ask a lion or a tiger not to hunt. But if there is someone capable of doing it, it is a beast like the #93 rider.

Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images