“If not, I'd give up” - Marc Marquez's mentality after MotoGP injuries

Marc Marquez’s MotoGP injuries may have taken their toll on his body, but the reigning champion believes they've also made him mentally stronger than ever.

The factory Ducati rider completed his latest comeback with a double victory at Balaton Park, just his second event since surgery on a compressed radial nerve in his right arm.

That issue stemmed from injuries suffered when he was taken out by Marco Bezzecchi at Mandalika last season, damaging existing metalwork in his shoulder.

Told that MotoGP rookie and training partner Diogo Moreira had described his mentality as stronger than ever, Marc Marquez agreed.

“Yes. Because if not, I give up. So I need to be strong. And I’ve shared many training days with him.

“Now I'm stronger than ever because I passed through more difficult moments than before.

“All the difficult moments make you not better, but stronger.

“I would be better with a good body! But at the moment, I need to be strong on the mental side to continue working.”

“My arm is working in a different way”

That work continues at Brno this weekend where, despite his Balaton Park double, Marquez’s first target is to reduce the ten-second gap he faced to victory at Mugello.

“We are better [physically] than Mugello, which is the main reference this weekend, and so the target is to reduce the gap at Mugello,” Marquez said.

“We did a few steps, especially in the gym. I hope that on the bike it will be the same.

“But what I understand already in Mugello, and especially last week, is that my arm is working in a different way: Not like last year, not like the first part of the season, just in a different way.

“So we need to readjust everything, because it's a process of physiotherapists and doctors. From that point, continue our evolution.”

Marquez’s four MotoGP wins at Brno, including last year’s double, make it one of his most successful circuits, although he admits he is unsure exactly why.

“I don't know! Because on paper, it's not one of my strongest circuits. But it's true that every year I feel okay,” he said.

“Let's see. Maybe this will not be the year, but what I need to do is fix my physical condition.

“Because what I understand in these last years, from 2020 until now, is that when I'm feeling well in my physical condition, the speed is always there.

“So now my first target is fix my arm. And the speed, as we showed in Balaton, is there.”