A few days after last Sunday’s Qatar MotoGP 2022, Marc Márquez (Repsol Honda Team) has attended a press conference in Madrid. At the event, which was organized by his sponsor Estrella Galicia 0,0, The Spaniard has spoken about several issues regarding the World Championship that has just begun.  

The #93, with his usual spontaneity, has talked about his feelings on returning to the competition after a very serious eye injury and his adaptation to the revolutionary new Honda, among other matters. Regarding the latter, the champion has confessed that he still does not have the necessary ‘sensations’ to fight for victories. 

Three years and three serious injuries after his last title in 2019, the six-time MotoGP World Champion returns to the battlefield in an attempt to recover his lost throne: 

“A month ago, when I started riding a bike again, I didn’t hide that my goal is to fight for the World Championship. If not this year, the next. The world is not ending this year. I don’t have any extra pressure; the pressure you put on yourself. It can exist in any realm of your life if you’re ambitious.” 

Regarding his fifth place in Qatar, he explained that he would rather concentrate on taking steps towards adapting to the RC213V: 

“Last year on my first race back in Portimao, I didn’t even finish in the top ten, and then I won two races in a row in Misano. I realized that things can change a lot during a season. That’s why I did the race I did in Qatar since I still don’t have the necessary rapport with the bike to win races. The important thing now is to accrue some points“. 

After such a revealing answer, the obvious question ensued and Marc was asked if he was to become more conservative or he will go back to the Marc Márquez we are used to: 

“The type of Marc Márquez that you will see in 2022 will depend on each weekend’s strategy. In Qatar, for instance, with the medium front tire, I could have done a better race, I could even have aspired to third or fourth place. But I crashed on that tire in the warm-up”.

“So I went back to the box and told my team: ‘Let’s be safe, we’re going for the soft (tire). I know the bike will move a little more and will be a little slower, but I will have more of a chance to finish the race and score points. Obviously, you can’t follow this strategy for every race, and you have to go out to win”. 

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As for his new Honda, he acknowledges its good performance but declared that he is pursuing a line of development more suited to his riding style: 

“It is clear that the new bike has potential, otherwise it could not have been on the front line in Qatar. With my team we have to gradually bring the bike to my style, to make me feel comfortable with it”. 

“Honda has enough resources and know-how to develop a bike in two different directions. They have done it in the past. Pol had a great race and I guess he won’t modify his much anymore, as for us we have to make it ours”. 

Regarding his approach to each race, Marc Márquez has also explained that he will only ride at the limit when he is certain he can fight for the win: 

“In a current MotoGP if you don’t take any risk, if you drive in a conservative mode, you finish in tenth place. If you risk a little you might finish in fifth and if you risk a lot you can win. But you should only take big risks when you are in a real position to win. If you only have the pace to do fourth or fifth there is no point in going out to win” – concluded the Spaniard-. 

Images of Marc Marquez: Estrella Galicia 0.0.