Honda boss’ bleak outlook: “Marquez bruised and battered, obviously not happy”
A physically compromised Marquez was 19th fastest and a fall ended his drab Friday practice at the Dutch MotoGP.
He cut a deflated and negative figure when he trudged back to his box.
Honda’s star man Marquez limped to Assen despite five crashes last weekend at the Sachsenring, a punishing period which forced him to withdraw from the grand prix and admit “I am not ready”.
His team manager Puig said about Marquez’s condition: “Obviously not happy. “Obviously bruised and battered.
“Not in his best physical condition. He’s had a lot of impacts, he crashed a lot in Germany.
“There is not one rider in the planet who is happy crashing.
“He understands clearly that the bike is not performing how he needs.
“On the other hand, he’s a champion and he’s pushing. That’s why he is crashing.
“He never gives up, he never accepts it.
“Now, it’s a time where it’s becoming quite serious. He must take it easy.
“Here in Assen he is affected by the ribs and the ankle, so we’ll see how he does.
“Overall, we understand he is not happy. We respect him.”
The six-time MotoGP champion’s future at Honda will remain under the microscope while his bike remains below-par.
"If I’m here it’s because my compromise with Honda is the maximum,” he said at Assen.
“I want to work with them to improve the future and to improve our project.
"I’m here to work with them. At the moment, Of course I’m here to work with them and as I say, working with them means next year’s project.
"This year will not change life too much. The compromise is maximum."
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
