Marc Márquez returned to the top of the podium on Sunday at the German Grand Prix 581 days after the injury that has weighed him down in recent months. The Cervera rider has completely overcome the ordeal and, despite the many points that separate him from the leader Quartararo, all is not lost. Can Marc Márquez be champion?
So far, eight rounds of the 2021 World Cup and the eight-time world champion have been contested He has contested six – he was not in the first two GPs, still convalescing– and has finished only three, forced to retire in the remaining three.
In the three that it has finished, it has remained seventh, ninth and first, which gives Márquez a total of 41 points, 90 less than the leader has of the World Cup, the French Fabio Quartararo, first with 131.
In principle, and if the calendar is not altered -it is subject to change for Covid reasons- 11 races remain for the end of the 2021 World Cup, which means 275 points at stake (the winner gets 25 points). It is, therefore, mathematically possible that Márquez works the miracle despite the difficulty involved.
Marc Márquez achieves his first victory in the German GP after 581 days
And not just a matter of numbers but of history: no one in the history of MotoGP has ever overcome an equal disadvantage either with the current scoring system or with previous systems.
However, Nothing can be ruled out with a pilot who throughout his career has shown a spirit of winning and self-improvement few times seen before.. Lifting another title seems distant this season, especially with the level shown by the rivals, but if he continues in a winning dynamic it will not be strange to see him among the best of the year when the course concludes.
Race to race
Despite the euphoria unleashed after his creditable victory in Germany, Márquez does not want to think beyond the next World Cup event: “In the next race we will return to our real situation,” he said, after winning despite having said in the previous one that thinking about victory “was not realistic.”
“I need two weeks to rest and disconnect, because it’s been two winters since I haven’t had a vacation due to the interventions and physiotherapy, and I need to disconnect even if I do not arrive prepared in Austria“, he added, about the summer break that will come after the GP this coming weekend in Assen (Netherlands).