Marco Bezzecchi
Marc Marquez’s recent injury struggles have only added to his dip in physical conditioning, says Jorge Lorenzo.
Marquez’s crash at Le Mans ruled him out of the Catalan Grand Prix this week. Even before his crash, Marquez’s struggles due to injury were evident.
Currently, Marquez is projected to return at the Italian Grand Prix at the end of the month after recovering from shoulder surgery.
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There are larger concerns about his future, given that Marc Marquez is now 33 years old and is likely to perform at a lower level than he did in the past.
But Jorge Lorenzo believes the Ducati rider is never going to hit the levels he did in the past, and it all comes down to his injuries from 2020.
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Jorge Lorenzo claims we will ‘never see’ Marc Marquez in peak physical form again
Speaking on Duralavita, MotoGP legend Jorge Lorenzo was asked about what Marc Marquez’s future in the sport looks like.
Lorenzo noted that Marquez’s career has struggled to an extent after his crash during the 2020 season. And since then, he has found it difficult to adapt, given how much the injuries had impacted his physicality.
And even with a lengthy absence to recover, Lorenzo expects Marquez to be a diminished version when he is back on the grid.
“Well, it remains to be seen whether predictions will be difficult. I think Marc Marquez’s physical peak was in 2019, when he didn’t have a major physical injury.
“In 2020, he changed his career completely with that crash in Jerez. His desire to return to the track before he had healed, and the complications he had with so many operations.
“When he returned that year, in some races, you could already see him driving with a different body posture, especially when entering curves with his injured arm.
“I think he has never fully recovered. And we’ll never see Marc Marquez at his peak physical strength again, like in 2019.”
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Speaking further during the interview, Lorenzo admitted that his injury in Indonesia earlier this year put further impetus on him to recover. But even with time away, Marquez will return as a changed rider.
“After that last injury with Bezzecchi in Indonesia, it complicated his arm even further. Hopefully, the plans to remove that screw that affected his nerve will go ahead, and everything will return to like it was before Indonesia.
“But I think we saw his peak as an athlete in 2019, and now we’ll have to get used to a new Marquez. That doesn’t mean he won’t be fast, or that he can’t be champion again.
“But yes, you get older, especially in a sport as risky and dangerous as this, with so many crashes, you tend to carry the burden of injuries throughout your body.
“Psychologically, it makes you more cautious, especially in mixed conditions like rain and the track being wet.”
Marquez’s surgery can’t fix all his issues, as many within the paddock feel his diminished physicality will hold him back from winning another world championship.
Ducati officials have asked Marquez to be patient with his recovery and only return when he is fully fit and ready to get on the bike again.
But what will Marquez look like upon his return? It’s going to be difficult to expect him to come back and immediately win races or even be in the mix.
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