On 2023: “I did not expect the nightmare of the operation but whoever follows it, gets it”
A CORUÑA, 14 Dec. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Spanish MotoGP rider Marc Márquez (Repsol Honda) acknowledged that it was a “nightmare” having to undergo surgery again and that the 2022 World Championship was not as expected, but after his last injury and set-up he managed to do good races that, Despite not being worth it to win the World Cup, they make him more optimistic if, in addition, Honda does its homework on the new 2023 bike.
“After the injury I did some good races, with speed, but it’s not enough for me to win (the World Cup). I have to have stability and the more the machine helps, the better it will be,” he told the media during his visit to MEGA, the Museum of Estrella Galicia –company that sponsors him–.
The eight-time world champion, six times in MotoGP, continues to work on his full recovery. “I am with a more specific treatment to try to find one hundred percent in that arm with four operations, because the obligation is to fight for the World Cup. I am working on it to start working together in January to reach my maximum. And in pre-season we will see where we are”, he recognized.
Of course, “always” demands “the maximum” from his team and Honda. “The Valencia test was not as expected, but I was in Japan for five days and the intention is there. In February they will bring things to the tests but it is a bullet, what you test there is what you will have all year. But I trust Honda, the human team is wonderful and the machine needs to work as well as possible”, he commented in order to find out why he will fight in 2023.
In any case, he wants to leave behind the nightmare of injuries and operations to be able to unleash his ‘DNA’. “You are on top of a motorcycle, not an animal. If you give gas you go faster and if not, slower. But my ‘DNA’ is to take risks. It was seen in the last race in Valencia, I wanted to be on the podium and I pushed. But I did not expect that they would have to operate on me in the middle of the season, or that a nightmare would begin. But whoever follows it, gets it,” he said.
As for the new format of the championship with sprint races, and having two races in one weekend, he agreed but was cautious. “New format, with little time to adapt. It will be more demanding. Surely that format will have to be adapted, but it is normal. Something is tested and then it will have to be adapted to the demands of the teams and drivers. But we are there to run, the more races the better,” he said.
Márquez went with the Formula 1 driver Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) to MEGA, the Museum of their common sponsor Estrella Galicia in La Coruña (Galicia), where they shared their impressions with the press before a visit and special day together with the CEO of the company, Ignacio Rivera, and his family.
“I love when a relationship is long and goes beyond a sponsorship, and there is a different relationship that is not only based on days of events and there are also informal dinners. It is essential then to have that confidence on the track”, commented the one from Cervera on the sponsorship of the Galician brewery.
For his part, the CEO of Estrella Galicia, Ignacio Rivera, recalled that when they started working with Marc he had a Moto3 World Championship. “So there we sold 100 million liters with about 200 million euros, now we are building a new factory of 1,000 million liters and with a turnover of almost 1,000 million euros. And the world of sports sponsorship has served a lot,” he said, especially with Marc and Carlos (Sainz).