Marc Marquez’s return to MotoGP after 10 months out through injury is now three races old and we are seemingly none the wiser as to whether there is still a lot more to come from the six-time MotoGP World Champion.
Indeed, while Marquez’s performances in those three rounds have been very respectable in the circumstances, it is still jarring to see him circulating towards the bottom end of the top ten such was his ubiquitousness at the front for so long.
The three surgeries alone speak volumes as to why Marquez’s has played it safe with his return to MotoGP, not to mention the protracted period out, but even now he is struggling to mix riding competitively with training in between without stressing the troublesome shoulder out.
As such, it has taken between the last round in France - where he didn’’t help himself with two bruising crashes in the race - and this weekend’s event in Italy for him to get back to some sort of training on a motorcycle, albeit a roadgoing one.
Still nothing is too good for Marquez which is why it has provided him with a Honda CBR600RR, a model you cannot buy in Europe,.
Suggesting the larger CBR1000RR-R is a touch too physical for him at the moment, Marquez instead uses the 118hp middleweight supersport at the twisting provincial Circuit de Mora d'Ebre.
Extending his training regime to riding a motorcycle could prove crucial for Marquez to ramp up his recovery process by focusing building strength on particular muscles and regain the posture that enabled his famously active riding style.
Indeed, ,the next couple of weeks could potentially reveal a lot about whether Marquez’s return to fitness - long though it may be - is ultimately on track with back-to-back races in Mugello and Barcelona awaiting the Honda man.
Though Marquez has enjoyed great success - and bounced back from some horrendous accidents - at Mugello, he anticipates a tough weekend ahead for him.
“I have had a good week to continue with the recovery process. We showed our potential in the wet in France and this weekend in Mugello we have to work well from Friday morning to try to be consistent and find good pace.
“I understand my physical limitations and know that it will not be the easiest of weekends to be close to the front in the dry.
“Now we arrive at two back-to-back races, which is a first for me this year. It will be more physically demanding, but we can manage it.”
