Marc Marquez considered stopping after Jerez, won't use holeshot at Mugello

Marc Marquez has revealed he considered temporarily stepping back from MotoGP racing once again following a punishing Jerez event, if doctors deemed it was necessary for his recovery.

The eight-time world champion returned to action at the previous Portimao round, following a nine-month absence due to multiple complications with a broken right arm.

But while Portimao passed without incident, Marquez suffered several big accidents at Jerez and was forced to withdraw from the post-race test due to his body 'locking up' from the strain of the race weekend.

Last week then saw Marquez cleared to train on a motorbike, a CBR600, for the first time since his accident, which confirmed his shoulder – more than the arm – is still far from full fitness.

"Last week I went to the doctor for a check and the arm is getting better. This is the most important. So now we check what is going on in the shoulder because this is my limitation now," Marquez said.

"I was riding a 600, normally I never ride these kinds of [Supersport] bikes, but on Tuesday I was riding to understand well how my situation was and my position on the bike.

"On a MotoGP bike I am not riding well or in a good position. I chose this kind of [600cc] bike not to ride fast, but to understand the kind of position… Now I understand that I cannot ride in a good position because if I do that then the pain in the shoulder is much more.

"So, we are checking all the things at home and at the circuit to understand our future."

While denying that such physical issues mean he may have returned to MotoGP too early, Marquez revealed the possibility of stepping back again - if doctors felt it would be beneficial - after Jerez.

"No [I didn’t come back too soon]," he said. "In fact there was a possibility after Jerez to stop again. We considered and we spoke with the doctors but even they said it was good to reintroduce [racing] to my life and ride a MotoGP bike.

"You can ride a different kind of bike, but in the end you need to ride the racing bike if you want to improve."

Marquez underwent major surgery on both of his shoulders in the winters of 2018 (left) and 2019 (right), but said the current shoulder problems are also not unusual for the type of upper-arm fracture he suffered at Jerez 2020.

"When you do another step [in your recovery] after a big injury like this then new things emerge," Marquez explained. "It doesn’t mean the shoulder is in a really bad situation.

"I mean, the shoulder has something that is not working in a proper way and we are trying to understand why during the race weekend the pain is coming more. Relaxed or not relaxed, the pain is there always.

"But the doctors also say this is normal after a broken humerus; the shoulder or the elbow is also affected.

"In my case some small things are coming from the shoulder that are disturbing me more than we expected when riding. We are trying to work to understand how to improve for the future."

Marquez has a best race finish of seventh in the three rounds since his return, having fallen from the lead of the wet Le Mans race last time out.

Turning to this weekend's Mugello round, Marquez – who has already made his opposition to holeshot and ride-height devices clear - said that he probably won't be using the system along the record-breaking main straight, which includes a 'jump' at over 220mph.

"I already say in Jerez… In the end we need to find a kind-of limitation and try to understand why we have increased a lot the top speed especially," he said. "I mean, the bikes are more or less the same, the engines are the same but with the aerodynamics we gain a little bit and with the holeshot system we gain even more, so all these things create that maybe the top speed here in Mugello will be really high.

"But here the most tricky point is in the uphill and downhill and with all these holeshot systems for the straight here in Mugello – I don’t know about the other bikes – but with our bike I will not use. I will not use because I don’t feel safe.

"Maybe I would gain a little bit with it, but at the moment I feel that we are not ready to use in Honda these holeshot [ride height] systems on the main straight here in Mugello.

"In the future they are already working with all the manufacturers to find a way to have the best performance of the bikes, but if we keep increasing the top speed then all the run-off areas in all the circuits will be too small."