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VOLUME 59 ISSUE 19 MAY 10, 2022 P153 final hairpin later that same lap. The front slid; the rear gave way. The bike was almost horizontal. It should have been all over. He'd crashed again. Instead, in a trademark Marquez move not seen since before he broke his arm at the start of 2020—a miracle save. Knee dug into the asphalt, elbow helping out, and sheer willpower dragging the bike back onto its wheels. Or, as he rather winsomely put it after the race: "Fortunately, the Spanish fans were there to pick me up and save the crash." The crash-without-crashing was a sign of the eight-time champion's recovery of fitness and speed of reactions, and willingness to take risks. As the weeks roll by, he will only keep getting better. Will the same be true of the Honda? So far, the bike hasn't been helping much. Marc had to suffer the indig- nity of following faster riders in qualifying at Jerez. With 62 poles in 146 starts, it was the only way he was able to manage even a second-row starting slot. Good-natured Jack Miller had been his high-speed guide and had no complaints about it. Oth- ers, especially Aleix Espargaro, have been miffed about this, at previous races as well. But Marc was not fazed by the criticism. "A lot of times in the past people have followed me in qualifying. If I follow someone now, they should be flattered." Struggling for the right feeling at the twisty Andalucian circuit, his own pre-race prediction was that fifth place would be the most he could hope for. He only exceeded that by one place, but the way he did it should strike fear into his rivals. With 15 races and a total of 375 points still to come, it's worth noting that Marc is now only 45 points off leader Quartararo. A highly recoverable margin. If the bike will cooper- ate and his comments after post-race Jerez tests were not particularly encouraging. He placed only 15th, nine- tenths off the day's leader, Pramac Ducati's Johann Zarco, and commented: "We found some small things that are work- ing better … but our weak point is still there." The 2022 Honda, fully re- designed, has a questionable chassis balance and queasy front-end feeling that has affect- ed all four riders. At Jerez, his favourite circuit, Taka Nakagami managed a best-so-far seventh, but Pol Espargaro (11th) and Alex Marquez (13th) weren't really in the game. The short pre-season testing schedule, bad weather in Indo- nesia and Portugal, and Marc having missed two races due to double-vision problems have conspired to leave the all-new RC213V short of development. It is still early enough in the season for the bike to catch up. It took five races before the 2022 Ducati to prove clearly bet- ter than last year's model. The Honda still has time. But not very much time, and not that much in the way of op- portunity. Dorna lay two one-day tests after races. That at Jerez was the first; there is another af- ter the Catalunya GP. In addition, there is a two-day test at Misano in September. Honda also has the services of test-rider Stefan Bradl, although these are of lim- ited value to Marquez in refining his feel at the giddy limit. Honda need every chance they can get to show that like their rider, they are ready to regain Big Beast status. CN The crash-without- crashing was a sign of the eight- time champion's recovery of fitness and speed of reactions, and willingness to take risks. As the weeks roll by, he will only keep getting better.