‘One goal for 2022, fight for the championship’ - Marquez

Marc Marquez has his sights set on another World Championship in 2022 as the Repsol Honda star returns to full fitness for his tenth season in MotoGP.

A turbulent two years, following an accident in the opening race of 2020 at Jerez, has seen the eight-time champ struggling to return to the formidable form he’s famous for. An additional training injury at the close of last season saw questions return over if he would even be back on two wheels. But with his condition improving dramatically in the past couple of weeks and an impressive showing in the opening pre-season test at Sepang, it seems the fears were unfounded.

“Two weeks ago my goal was not the championship because still I was injured and even I was not training,” Marquez admitted following the official launch of his 2022 Repsol Honda RC213V. “But now, what I feel in Malaysia, for me was the last recheck that everything was okay - because it was a long day, very tired, always you have these doubts. The doctor said to me ‘Will be not a problem’ but I had the doubts. Then when I check in Malaysia that I was okay, okay I need more laps and I need to feel more fresh on the bike, especially in the second day I feel tired but the time will arrive. So from that point I say ‘Okay, why not?’

“We will start the season from the first race so if you are in the Repsol Honda team, you must fight for the championship.

“During all this time, they wait for me, they respect me a lot,” he continued, on the team that has surrounded him for the past nine seasons. “Already in 2020 I didn’t race and then I say to them, about the contract, about everything, ‘Give me what you want’, but they respect me a lot. This is one of the reasons why I stay a long time and why I signed a four year