Marc Marquez admits he is far from certain to complete three MotoGP rounds in as many weekends as he prepares to make his comeback after three months out.
The six-time premier class champion underwent a fourth operation in early-June on the right humerus which he badly broke in the 2020 Spanish Grand Prix, keeping him out of another six rounds.
He only rode a MotoGP bike again in last week’s Misano test, but will saddle up on a Repsol Honda again at MotorLand Aragon from this evening (AEST).
That decision was made after assessing how he recovered from exactly 100 laps around Misano, but the bigger task is going to be getting through the Japanese and Thailand Grands Prix.
Marquez is set to enter both of them, but has some pessimism about making it to race start on the Sundays of September 25 and October 2.
“My target, my goal is to try to finish all weekends from now on,” he explained.
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“It’s true that the possibility’s on the table, because three races in a row are coming up, that maybe in Japan, maybe in Thailand, I need to stop in the middle of the weekend; we don’t know.
“But, my intention and my goal is to try and finish all these weekends, try to prepare the 2023 [bike] well, try to give my precise comments to Honda, and let’s see.
“[I will] Try to be better and better, and next winter is when I need to understand where the level is or where is the top level of my right arm.”
Marquez finished second in last year’s Aragon Grand Prix, having launched seven unsuccessful attempts to pass eventual winner Francesco Bagnaia in the final three laps.
This time around, he thinks a mere podium finish is virtually impossible, given his fitness levels.
“About the podium, my possibilities are one percent; I mean, really, really low,” said the 29-year-old.
“One thing is that I’m really far from my best physical condition, especially always talking about arm condition about the muscles.
“The bone is fixed – that is most important – but the muscle conditions still are very far from what I want.
“The second thing is that Honda is in a very difficult moment – we saw that from the other riders – and we are far from the other manufacturers, so let’s see.”
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