On Track Off Road No.183

views from the ‘19 repsol honda launch
Fitness and treatment were
clearly themes buzzing around
the riders’ heads. Marquez cited
his goal for the season was “to
avoid injury”; the comment
providing some small insight as
to the interruptive and serious
nature of his shoulder problem.
Short term he was in the same
boat at Lorenzo. “My target is
try to be 100% or as close as
possible in Qatar GP,” he said.
“The surgery has been more
aggressive and more difficult
than we expected. It was for
four hours because it was more
complicated than even the doctors
expected. They said a minimum
will be 3-4 months, but
I’m working quite hard. We are
already one month and a half
[along] and the shoulder is going
in a good way so this is the
most important. How it will be
in Sepang I don’t know. Every
day I feel some improvement.”
Underneath the optimistic
comments there appeared to
be concern (or maybe careful
estimation) that Marc will have
to feel his way into 2019. His
typical approach of using Friday
and Saturdays at Grand Prix to
explore limits with the Michelins
may have to be tempered so as
to not risk wrenching the shoulder
even more. A radical suggestion
might be that Marquez
has to alter his philosophy to
MotoGP racing, and this will really
shift the tiller.
3) Setting the
kindling
Perhaps more than any other
team, Repsol Honda will have
the fans watching the body
language and gestures in the pit
box. It’s a consequence of two
highly successful, demanding
and elite athletes existing and
striving in a small space and
how the air will mix and occasionally
bump off into thunderous
storms in a teacup. Lorenzo
has previous experience of
the scenario having taken the
plunge to enter Valentino Rossi’s
Yamaha set-up in 2008 and
fared very well.