Three-time 500 cc world champion Wayne Rainey reckons that Marc Marquez “might need some blue sky” at another MotoGP squad following a recent tumultuous period with Honda.
Marquez has been plagued with injury since suffering a fearsome crash in the 2020 season opener at Jerez, the six-time premier class champion having suffered a broken shoulder that failed to heal without several operations, a bout of diplopia that affected his vision last year while he has recently missed the last two races after sustaining a broken hand in the Portuguese Grand Prix.
These injuries have largely come about as a result of having to push his Honda RC213-V to its absolute limit in order to compete with the current MotoGP pace-setters, the Japanese marque’s machine particularly hard to ride on the limit as all its riders have struggled to gel with the machine.
Explaining that he is “very sorry to see Marc in this situation”, Rainey feels that Marquez could well be better suited to give up on Honda and switch to another bike going forwards, the American feeling thoughts of a move “have entered his mind” following brother Alex’s recent upturn in form having changed from LCR Honda to the Gresini Ducati squad.
“I’m very sorry to see Marc (Marquez) in this situation, throughout his career he’s hit the deck quite a bit but he’s always been able to bounce back like rubber man, but the last couple of seasons have taken their toll,” said Rainey.
“When you do that long enough it can do that to you, but the best way to prevent it is to minimise the mistakes, and the way to do this is to get a bike that gives you a good feel.
“It looks the current bike is not that bike, and if I look at the other riders on that package, they (Honda) have some work to do.
“Marc doesn’t need to prove anything and I think he knows what will happen if things don’t come easy, and he will just have to wait for the bike to get better.
“He might just need some blue sky in another team, I’m sure those thoughts have entered his mind and now seeing what his brother (Alex Marquez) is doing on another bike with the Ducati has probably got him thinking those ideas.”
