Aside from the catastrophe caused by his crash and injury at Jerez in July 2020, for Marc Marquez the first part of the 2023 season has undoubtedly been one of the most unrecognisable moments of his career.
"Injury aside, this is the worst moment of my sporting life," he said after crossing the finish line 17th in the Assen sprint race on 24 June.
Marquez has 85 victories to his name, 59 of them in the premier class, but he has not been able to cross the finish line as a grand prix winner since 20 September, 2021, when he won the Emilia Romagna GP.
He hasn’t even completed a full grand prix since October 23, 2022, at the Malaysian GP.
The situation has triggered speculation about his future, pointing to a possible Honda exit even before completing his current contract which concludes at the end of 2024.
Autosport was able to speak exclusively to Marquez before this weekend’s British MotoGP, as he maintains his stance of "wanting to continue growing the project" at Honda, despite the fact that the Japanese marque is in its worst moment.
How are you with the rib injury that prevented you from staring the Dutch GP at Assen, are you 100% recovered?
Marc Marquez: "From the rib injury I recovered very well, very quickly. In fact, I had to rest for a week more than I wanted, but it went well for me because I went to Mallorca, but I wanted to start working earlier and I couldn't, I had to lengthen it due to the rib issue. But what bothered me the most was my [right] ankle, which was very inflamed. I tore a ligament and the area is still very inflamed to this day. It might be the case that I am not able to walk very well. This issue with my ankle has been causing me discomfort in my entire right leg, both in the knee and my upper leg. In the last few days I have improved, but it has taken me longer than I expected. I would have liked to have recovered. This last week I've already been able to do more on the bike, it's been going well. I stopped a day earlier [the test with the bike] due to discomfort, but physically I can say that I'm pretty good now."
Source: Autosport