P122
CN
III IN THE PADDOCK
BY MICHAEL SCOTT
T
here is a famous series
of newspaper headlines,
spaced out over a fort-
night, covering the march of the
returning deposed emperor Na-
poleon across France to Paris,
to reclaim power.
When he first escaped his pu-
nitive exile on the island of Elba,
he was described as a cannibal
(anthropophagi), and "the Cor-
sican Ogre." And so it went on:
Monster, Tiger, Usurper..., the
epithets losing power the closer
he got to Paris. And when he ar-
rived there, he had been trans-
formed back into "Emperor" and
"his Imperial and Royal majesty,"
to enjoy "the joyful acclama-
tions of his devoted and faithful
subjects."
Well, nobody called Marquez
an ogre during his long-enforced
exile—eight months without being
able to ride a motorcycle. But per-
BONAPART'S
COMING BACK.
JUST NOT QUITE YET
haps I wasn't really joking when
I said he was going to return and
win his first race going away.
Because over the past couple
of weeks, in a headlong rush to
rival the Napoleonic march, he's
been coming back fast.
With the first race approach-
ing equally fast, it looked like he
planned to be there. The holiday
for all the other riders—a tense,
exciting and enjoyable spell of
unpredictable results and unfa-
miliar chances—would be over.
With days to go, at the time of
this writing, they got a reprieve.
Two more races before Napo-
leon returns for the start of the
European season at Portimao.
Well, probably two more
races. Maybe more. For the first
time in his life, it seems Marc
is listening to medical advice.
The slow-to-knot humerus bone
needs to get stronger and will
be assessed again before round
three in Portugal, two weeks
after the Qatar double-header.
It's been intense and exciting
without him. When he returns
the temperature will rise still
further.
Not long ago, when judged as
if he was a normal bloke, there
was still some doubt about the
timing and strength of the come-
FOR THE
FIRST TIME IN
HIS LIFE, IT
SEEMS MARC
IS LISTENING
TO MEDICAL
ADVICE.
