Marc Marquez discovers “new feeling” during intense Mugello MotoGP battle

Marc Marquez lost out in his battle for a top five at the Italian MotoGP, but was Mugello a turning point for his season?

The nine-time world champion made his return from double surgery at the Mugello round, and after qualifying fourth on Saturday, Marquez was part of an intense battle in the grand prix with potential future team-mate at Ducati, Pedro Acosta.

Marquez eventually lost out to the KTM rider, while Ai Ogura and Fabio di Giannantonio also made their way through in the latter stages. 

However, Marquez says he was able to battle without any numbness in his shoulder, giving him a “new feeling”. Speaking after the grand prix, Marquez said: “For me, the most important thing is that the numbness was not there. 

“I feel like I had new feelings on the arm. This was the most important and it was the target of the surgery. 

“From now on, it doesn’t matter what my 100% is. I will try to reach my 100% everyday. I will try to push the arm to the limit and then let’s see where I can arrive. 

“Nobody said I will come back in the future as I was before. But I will try. You know my mental side.”

Marquez was also pleased to have battled until the closing stages, given there was uncertainty as to how his shoulder would fare over the course of a full weekend. 

Marquez added: “The fact that I didn’t know how it would be, I just gave everything until the body and the right arm said ‘okay, stop!’.

“I remember that I felt super tired and I checked the pit wall and there were still ten laps to go. 

“There was a bit of frustration there. But I tried to fight. 

“I knew that I would lose that fight, but I said, ‘if I need to sell my skin, I will sell it in an expensive way’. 

“We had a great battle with many riders and the most important [thing] for me is that I completed all the weekend, and the starting point for me is that the rehabilitation on the bike was not bad.”

Marquez also spoke about his foot injury from Le Mans, although the factory Ducati star admits his shoulder is the much more significant injury. 

“The injured foot is [like] peanuts [in terms of pain] compared with what I have in my shoulder,” said Marquez. 

“Speaking about that [foot] injury, I was ready [to race] in Montmelo. The main worry was the shoulder. 

“The right foot is not 100% but is not a limitation on the bike.”