Those of you who are avid MotoGP fans will certainly be aware of the struggles Marc Marquez has been going through specifically with his right arm. Following a nasty crash in July 2020 at Jerez. In the span of two years, the Spanish rider went through numerous surgeries but never seemed to regain the momentum he had prior to the injury.
Earlier in June, 2022, Marquez underwent a fourth, and hopefully final surgery on his right arm, wherein bone alignment issues were finally addressed. Now, well and truly on the road to recovery, Marquez has high spirits, and has even resumed training aboard the Honda RC213V. On September 6, 2022, Marquez finally began endurance testing aboard his beloved racing machine at the Misano world circuit, marking exactly 100 days since he last swung a leg over the RC213V. A quick initial run was accomplished by the eight-time World Champion to evaluate his arm. He and the crew went into work mode and started their testing procedure when everything looked OK.
Marc Marquez rode a total of 39 laps before calling it a day during the lunch break. He finished the day with a best time of 1'32.395, fast enough to garner an 11th position on the grid for the recently concluded San Marino GP. Even though lap times were not the main objective, Marquez was still able to finish the day just a fraction of a second slower than the rider who was quickest. In the official press release of the Honda Racing Corporation, Marc Marquez expressed optimism surrounding his return to the circuit.
“It was really good to be back, to ride this bike again and to be with my team. Step by step I felt faster and more comfortable, but I need to work more to gain the strength for longer runs. I was able to try some items for Honda after a few runs because I was feeling good. Honda is working a lot, it’s clear. Our target today wasn’t times, it was to do 40 laps and understand our situation. We decided to stop early to try and ride tomorrow. Tonight, I will do a lot of work with physio, ice and stretching to help with the recovery of the arm.”
Meanwhile, Marquez's teammate Pol Espargaro had a similarly successful day, with a fastest lap of 1'31.707, which was 1.1 seconds quicker than his time from Saturday's Q1. He is limiting his running because of the discomfort in his right wrist following the incident on Sunday. Espargarro nevertheless managed to finish 50 laps throughout the practice sessions. Espargaro and his crew experimented with various settings to enhance his comfort on the Repsol Honda. Espargaro stated he was happy with the practice sessions even with the few laps.
