Marquez: Summer break will be important. Good news we go to Austin

MotoGP winner for the first time in over 500 days last weekend in Germany, Marc Marquez heads into the last race before a crucial summer break in his recovery process. 

The five weeks between this weekend’s Dutch MotoGP and the Austria double-header in August, will give Marquez a prime opportunity to come back close or even 100% full fitness. 

And with the Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas now confirmed for the second part of the season - an obvious victory chance given his record there, Marquez is hoping the ‘stress’ on his arm will dissipate as the year goes on in preparation for 2022.  

Marquez said: "Yeah of course, the summer break will be important for me. Still the arm and the shoulder especially feels a lot if you stress too much. 

"For example, the Montmelo test I did many laps, but if I do some laps then stop, some laps then stop, I can ride many times. But if the stress on the arm is a long time like 30 laps in a row in Sachsenring, then the day after the performance go down a lot. 

"But anyway let’s see. Also I feel a lot the weather change, I feel a lot the humidity, but anyway it’s the process, it’s normal. 

"I already have a phone call with the doctor and he say that it’s normal. The most important is that victory (Sachsenring). Of course, the good news from this week was we will go to Austin. It’s a circuit that I like." 

It’s fair to say MotoGP is as competitive as it’s ever been - whether that’s because more support is given to satellite teams than ever before by manufacturers, continued improvements to electronics and/or tyres - it’s all things Marquez mentioned when asked if riders make less of a difference compared to previous years. 

The eight-time alluded to these components all helping to bring the field closer together, but ‘for me the rider makes the difference’. 

"I think more or less for me the rider makes the difference. This is something we need to keep in our sport," added Marquez.

"Its’ true that now with equal electronics, same bike performance which is the same from official team to satellite team - all these things help a lot. 

"A team ten years ago that never had any possibility to; or a rider in a satellite team was impossible to win a race, now it’s possible! 

"This helps a lot and especially the tyres improve. When the tyres improve and the grip is very high; because as soon as you need to start managing the gas, start to manage the spin, this is where you can make the difference. 

"But when the grip is very, very high, and you can open the gas - full gas immediately and all these things it’s more equal."