MOTOGP
FIM MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
ROUND 2 / JULY 24-26, 2020
CIRCUITO DE JEREZ – ANGEL NIETO / JEREZ, SPAIN
P52
MARQUEZ'S COMEBACK
THWARTED
You couldn't fault his effort. And for
a session and a half Marc Marquez
looked capable of running a pace
that would put him in the points at
Jerez 2 after breaking his right arm
in a monster crash in round one at
Jerez. He was just 1.298 slower than
the fastest rider in FP3 on Saturday,
and 0.999 off in FP4. The afternoon,
however, brought more difficulties. "I
tried today and in the morning; I felt
really good and was able to ride in
37.7 with the used tire, pretty much
the same time as last week," Mar-
quez said. "But then in the afternoon
when I started to feel really good
and ride in the same way I stopped
in the box and when I started again
something changed immediately. It
was like the inflammation or some-
thing. The arm got a little bit bigger
and maybe pressed some nerve. I
was losing the power on the second
run in some corners I did not expect.
At that point, you need to be hon-
est with your body and understand
the situation and that's what I did. I
stopped in the box and said straight-
away to the team what's going on:
that I would go to Q1 and in the first
lap, if I feel a little bit this feeling or
something similar I will give up. This
is what I did. The mind does a lot.
When I said to myself 'I can't,' then
the pain multiplied two or three times!
But the mind also has to know the
body very well and know the limits of
suffering and how far you can go."
MOTOGP'S WALKING
WOUNDED
As we marveled at the bravery shown
by Marquez, Crutchlow and Rins
to be back riding less than a week
Briefly...
(Above) At a track he loves, Valentino Rossi was back to his usual
self, outpacing riders often half his age. The Italian benefited from the
engine blow-up of Pecco Bagnaia (63), although he couldn't hold off
the charging Vinales in the final two laps, eventually settling for third.
Miller (43) crashed out early. (Right) Takaaki Nakagami (30) stepped
up to the plate for Honda in Marc Marquez's absence, taking a
career-best fourth place at Jerez. He almost got Rossi on the final lap,
coming up half a second short at the flag. Morbidelli (21) blew a motor
at half race distance, Joan Mir (36) was fifth, and Petrucci threw it at
the wall in what was a rough day for the factory Ducati team.
