The Honda rider suffered a bruising weekend at the German GP in which he crashed five times, the last one leaving him with multiple fractures and ruling him out of the grand prix.
He elected to race this weekend at Assen but has altered his approach to reduce risk, given how bad the Honda is performing right now.
Ending Friday practice 19th overall, Marquez says he had no choice but to be at Assen as sitting out for six weeks including the summer break wasn’t an option if he hopes to help Honda improve its situation.
“In the other weekends, I felt good, I was able to push,” he said on Friday at Assen.
“But this weekend, I didn’t race in Sachsenring because I wasn’t feeling well and I feel pain, and we’re on the bike after four days.
“So, the body recovered a little bit, but still it’s painful. So, I feel a big limitation there. So, I cannot go for anything this weekend – I can’t.
“I mean, I’m competing because I then have one month and a half [off for the summer break].
“And with the feeling of Sachsenring, to be two months without being on the bike, believe me this is not the best for a rider.
“So, I need this weekend. For the mental side, I need to keep riding, keep going, and of course when you have difficult moments the motivation is not there.
“But you need to keep your routines, you need to keep the same way to work, you need to keep the same way to believe to change the situation in the future. But at home, the situation will never change.”
Source: Autosport