Portimao (Portugal) (AFP)

"Finishing a race is the biggest step in my rehabilitation and feeling like a MotoGP rider again was my dream," Spaniard Marc Marquez (Honda) said on Sunday, 7th for his return to Portugal after nine months of absence on injury.

Q: We saw you very touched when you returned to your garage after the Grand Prix.

What was this emotion?

A: "Emotion is the right word ... I prefer to keep my emotions to myself in normal times but, when I arrived in my garage with my mechanics, I exploded. I couldn't control my emotions. I have dreamed of this day for so long. Finishing a race is the biggest step in my rehabilitation and feeling like a MotoGP rider again was my dream. This is what happened today (Sunday) . Of course, when I got back to the garage, I was tired, exhausted and all that, but it was mostly an explosion of emotions that I couldn't control. But it was very nice! "

Q: What was the most complicated during this first race?

A: "The hardest part was the first rounds because I didn't feel out of place. Like at school when you play football with older guys and they tell you what to do and where to go! In the first rounds. laps, I had no rhythm, no control of my bike and a lot of people started to overtake me. Then I calmed down, I didn't get lost in fights and I found my place. J I started my race, gradually increased the pace. I signed my best lap at the end of the GP. As I felt better, I tried to catch up with Aleix Espargaro but, suddenly, my body was says ... (makes a cross with his arms) The last five or six laps, I was just sitting on the bike trying to finish, which was the most important. And if you analyze,to finish 13 seconds behind Fabio Quartararo (the winner, editor's note), it's incredible! "

Q: When do you expect to be back to your level and will it be possible for you to play the championship this season?

A: "Honestly, I don't know. It also depends on the tracks, if they're physical or not. The last seven laps here I wasn't able to use my elbow. I was driving weird. Another important point. is that the doctors told me that when I come back to competition I will have to train less at home. Between races I will not be able to ride a motorcycle or train indoors more than three or four times per week, without using a lot of weight. The bone (of his right humerus broken and operated on three times between July and December, editor's note) is fine but the stress imposed on him must be gradual. It cannot be all every day and every week. This is another reason why regaining a good physical condition will take time,but I have to follow the advice of the doctors because they gave me the opportunity to ride MotoGP again. Now I'm going to take things race after race. We'll see at the next check-up after Jerez (May 2, editor's note) how the bone is going and if I can do a little more. "

Interview in Portimao during a virtual press point.

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