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Marc Marquez expects that he will suffer soreness in his comeback MotoGP race this weekend at Aragon.
A fourth operation on the right arm which he broke in the 2020 Spanish Grand Prix meant Marquez had been out of action until last week’s two-day Misano test.
This weekend’s round at MotorLand Aragon is thus his first competitive MotoGP action in over three months and while the problematic humerus has healed, the muscle capability is still lacking.
Furthermore, he was in fact quicker than the ultimate Friday practice pace-setter, Prima Pramac Ducati pilot Jorge Martin, to the third sector on his fastest lap before a slide through the final corner.
However, Marquez has restricted himself to fits and starts, with no run longer than seven laps so far, and hence the 23-lap race distance is something of an unknown.
“I never did a long run and I will not do a long run tomorrow,” confirmed the Repsol Honda rider, who had already admitted to uncertainty about completing the Japanese or Thailand Grand Prix weekends which form part of the current triple-header.
“I hope with the adrenaline of the race and all these things [I can complete the race distance].
“I know that I will suffer, but if you suffer you drop a little bit your pace and you suffer less.
“This is easy. If you increase your pace and you are pushing more, it will be more demanding on the physical side.
“The good thing when you see you are not good enough, you drop [your pace], and it’s basically what I did in Le Mans and Mugello, my last two races.
“So already I was competing in that way, and now I’m competing in that way.
“But then we will see if, in the last races of this year, the progression is in a positive way and we can ride in a 100 percent level from the beginning to the end.”
Marquez was nevertheless upbeat about how he progressed during Friday running at Aragon.
“[In] the afternoon I felt better and the pace was faster,” he noted.
“My body position was better and this is what I really like from the day.”
Noteworthy also were matters mechanical, with Marquez again trying the Kalex swingarm that he and other Honda riders sampled during the Misano test.
Sourcing such an item externally is a radical step from the Japanese marque, which is stuck on the bottom of the constructors’ championship table with a bike which not even its talisman has been happy with when he has ridden it.
Indeed, Marquez’s fastest lap was set on a bike with the Kalex swingarm fitted.
“We started with the Austin set-up; same chassis and settings,” explained #93.
“[LCR Honda’s Takaaki] Nakagami is using another step and he did another evolution in these races when I was not there.
“Honda worked with Nakagami a lot but I prefer to start with something that I know and I will have time in the next races to try the [new] things.
“It is true I had the swingarm again; not clear.
“I did my best lap time with it but still we need to understand which is better for the pace because what I understood last year is that I was flowing more and that is normal.
“Still, I need to have more kilometres. One thing is the speed, the other is the way to ride.”
More practice and then qualifying takes place this evening (AEST).
