Marc Marquez explains Enduro accident: 'I started to feel something strange'

Six-time MotoGP champion Marc Marquez has explained what happened during last October's enduro training accident, which triggered a repeat of his 2011 double vision problems.

The Repsol Honda star hasn't been on a grand prix bike since, but his improving vision meant he was finally cleared to make a return to motocross earlier this week.

"The accident was like a normal day, I got up, went out on the enduro bike to a very small circuit close to my town," Marquez began. "I was with Josep Garcia who is the enduro world champion. I have a good relation with him.

"I rode for 20 minutes, then said 'I’ll do 2 more laps before I go'. At that point I crashed in a right corner. I had a kind of a highside and hit my head on the ground. But I got up, rode the bike again and continued on my enduro trip. Then I arrived home and took a shower.

"But after 3 hours I started to feel something strange in the vision, something strange in the head. Straight away I called the doctor and said I have this feeling. He said 'don’t panic. Wait one week, maybe it’s normal'.

"Then after one week we saw the problem is still there. That was when we told all of you [media]. But in the first week we didn’t say [publicly] straight away because it was the advice of the doctor. He said, 'please, calm down, because sometimes in the first week it can fix itself. But if in the first week it doesn’t, then it’s a long time.'

"It was a long period."

The injury was an especially cruel blow given Marquez had spent the previous 15 months battling to recover from an infected arm fracture at Jerez 2020 and associated shoulder problems.

Almost exactly a year after his accident, and having missed the opening rounds of the 2021 season, Marquez broke Honda's longest MotoGP losing streak since 1982 with an emotional victory at the Sachsenring.

But it took until autumn for Marquez's physical condition and RCV's technical progress to fully merge into a formidable package once again.

A run of three podiums, including two wins, made Marquez the highest points scorer from Aragon to Misano 2. Then came the enduro accident, forcing him out of the last two rounds.

Patience, often a rare quality in motor racing, has again been the keyword for Marquez's recovery, especially since the 2011 vision problems had taken 4.5 months to solve.

"Since the first moment of getting injured we took the conservative approach," Marquez said. "Step by step. Time will fix everything. And if it doesn’t fix everything then we will need surgery [as in 2011]. But at the moment we won’t need surgery. I hope not to have another one in my eye.

"But during these last 3 months we were also working hard on the shoulder and planning the perfect way. Because although the shoulder and the arm is much better, we need to understand the best way to work during the season to not have the same problems as last year. The irritations, then the pain. Then everything becomes more difficult. We need to prepare all these things.

"From the mental side, maybe it's been one of the most difficult times of my career. It’s the fourth winter (of recovery from injury). The right shoulder, left shoulder, then arm. With the arm I suffered a lot, but it now looks better. Then arrived another [eye] injury.

"When I won In Austin and Misano I felt well. But in life you never know. You need to always be positive. It’s hard. I don’t wish this feeling on any rider."

And has it made him question his love of off-road training?

"The off-road bike is dangerous. But also it’s dangerous if you train with a CBR1000 in some circuits that are not GP circuits and the run-off areas are small. In the end you need to train, but risk is always there.

"If you’re on the sofa you won’t have risk and you will race every race. But you will not be the best in the world."

Marquez now plans to evaluate his vision during a test day on a 1000cc production bike at a grand prix circuit. Should no issues emerge, he could be back on a MotoGP bike for next month's opening pre-season test at Sepang.