After years on the sidelines, Marc Marquez still can’t define his 100%
· Yahoo Sports
Marc Marquez says he no longer knows what 100% fitness looks like, a reflection of the toll injuries have taken on him over the years.
Known for his all-out riding style, Marquez has often been seen as his own biggest risk, always pushing right up against the edge to stay competitive in MotoGP.
Visit raccoongame.org for more information.
Even before joining the premier class, Marquez’s fearless approach had already raised eyebrows. Jim Redman famously doubted he’d last long at the top level, yet more than a decade later, Marquez is a seven-time world champion.
But those championships came at a cost. Since 2020, Marquez has been dealing with limited function in his right arm and has struggled to perform in right-hand corners ever since.
On whether he can ever get back to full fitness again, or if it’s just a matter of managing what he has left physically speaking.
Photo by Steve Wobser/Getty ImagesMarquez admits he no longer knows what full fitness feels like
Appearing on the Tengo un Plan podcast, Marquez opened up about how past injuries still impact him, even years later.
The reigning world champion also pointed out that the many setbacks he’s faced have left him unsure of what it even means to be fully fit anymore.
“One of the questions the press asks me is, ‘Are you at 100%?’ And my answer is, I no longer know what my 100% is after an injury,” Marquez said.
“You don’t know; some injuries affect you more, others less. But, after opening up your body, when you have an injury, your 100% drops.
“Maybe it drops by 3%, 10% or 20%, but it drops. And so you don’t know what your 100% is. You have to keep pushing.”
Marc Marquez opens up about the mental challenge of returning to circuits where he’s crashed before
Marquez also discussed the psychological side of racing, specifically how it feels to return to tracks where he’s previously been injured. He used Jerez as an example, the track where his crash in 2020 forced him out of action for the entire season.
“One of the hardest things is a corner where you’ve had a major injury, or rather, not just a corner, but a whole circuit. The entire circuit. You get there, and there’s a bad vibe.
“You’ve got a circuit where you’ve won championships, and you get there, and there’s a good vibe, even if things go badly, better or worse, but there’s a good vibe.
“For example, the Jerez corner, turn 3 on that circuit, has neither a good nor a bad vibe. I mean, it’s neutral because I have lots of good memories and only one bad one, which is that one.
“But that turn three at Jerez… I mean, I’m heading there in two months’ time. I go out, and in the first practice session, I struggle to go through there with confidence, but then you start to loosen up and get into that focused mode where you forget everything else.”
Read more: