• Chronicle A World Cup that no one wants to win: Bagnaia and Aleix Espargaró's disaster

In the MotoGP paddock there is a happy man.

It is not the leader of the World Championship,

Fabio Quartararo

, unable to overtake anyone because of his Yamaha, slow, very slow, exaggeratedly slow, eighth this Sunday at Motegi.

It is not his greatest opponent either,

'Pecco' Bagnaia

, who fell because of the exasperation caused by the competition from

Enea Bastianini

, his Ducati teammate.

And of course it's not Aleix Espargaró, third candidate for the title, who couldn't even compete in Motegi because his team left the 'eco mode' on and couldn't go over 80 km/h.

The happy man is

Marc Marquez.

He won him in Japan?

No. Did he get on the podium?

Either.

But he no longer feels pain in his right arm.

And that is one of the most important successes of his life.

"When I finished, my arm was tired, but I didn't feel pain. That's the most important thing for me. I was able to maintain a constant pace throughout the race. I'm happy," he concluded this Sunday at the finish line, after finishing fourth.

Actually, he could have achieved more, but at this point that doesn't matter.

The six-time MotoGP champion dropped from pole to fifth in just two laps and everything was pointing to disaster when he discovered a strange fault on his Honda.

"On the first lap I thought I had to retire again, but I changed maps and suddenly the bike started to go well. I didn't want to invent, I just wanted to finish, although in the end I felt comfortable and was able to attack", he analyzed in reference to his final overtaking,

Miguel Oliveira

, to take fourth place.

joy regained

They say in his garage that, unlike last year, when he even won three races, this time Márquez enjoys it.

Before, he competed and smiled as usual, but he was subdued.

Now he is another because his future is another.

His team hopes that in the remaining four races, especially in Thailand and Australia, the next two, he will culminate his comeback with a podium finish and even a win that sparks celebration.

Seen the seen, it is an option.

But if it doesn't happen, it won't be a drama either.

Everyone's goal is already located in 2023, the championship in which Honda works, apparently, in good harmony with Márquez himself.

And that hadn't happened for a long time.

In fact, throughout the weekend, the Spaniard has sent messages of thanks to the factory, the team and everyone around him.

"I want to thank Honda for helping me get through such a positive weekend. I also want to thank all the factory workers who came here during the Grand Prix, it was a pleasure to see them all." Márquez commented that, despite his absence in eight races this year, he is still the best driver of the Japanese brand ahead of

Takaaki Nakagami

,

Pol Espargaró

and his brother

Álex

.

Next year their levels will be higher.

The arm seems to be recovering, the next RC213 is supposed to be faster and the rivals of the new generation have not yet made the expected jump.

In the paddock there is a happy man.

And it is not Quartararo, nor Bagnaia, nor Aleix Espargaró, who are fighting for one of the 'cheapest' titles -with fewer points'- in history.

The happy man is Márquez, a pilot without pain, the favorite for next year.


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  • Aleix Espargaro

  • Marc Márquez

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