“It’s hard for him to find a comfortable position”, Márquez's engineer reveals his only limitation?

Marc Márquez was crowned world champion for the ninth time last weekend in Motegi, the seventh occasion in the premier category, MotoGP. However, the return of the Spanish rider to the absolute elite has not been smooth, far from it. In fact, it has been preceded by a five-year drought and numerous medical issues.

Marco Rigamonti is his track engineer at Ducati, the chief technical officer of Marc Márquez's garage, and therefore one of the people who knows best the strengths and weaknesses—because there are some. And now that the goal has been achieved, he has opened up about it.

“You can give him something that works worse, and he will tell you it’s worse, that he feels less comfortable, but he also knows he can go just as fast”

Doubts Cleared

The last years of Marc Márquez at Honda were a torment for the Catalan, who not only paid the consequences of a non-competitive bike but also of multiple crashes and injuries. So many that he began to doubt whether he could regain an acceptable competitive level.

But all doubts have been cleared, as confirmed by the results and Rigamonti himself. “The doubts that remained after the fourth surgery were cleared last season, especially because it was the first with a bike he didn’t know. But that doesn’t compare at all to what he has done this year. The progress has been enormous,” the Italian points out.

“I already knew he was a special rider; his career speaks for itself. But I didn’t expect this level of dominance,” he continues, highlighting the human side of Marc Márquez. “I also didn’t expect his human side. As an athlete, his numbers speak for themselves, and that already sets him apart. But I didn’t imagine I would meet someone so approachable, who integrates into the team as just another member.”

A combination that, in Rigamonti's opinion, has created an ideal work environment where respect and optimism prevail, even a sense of invincibility.

“Marc has instilled in the entire work group a huge confidence in what we do. No one expected a championship like this, and now we are fully aware of what this guy can do on the bike,” he states. “That makes you face each weekend with the feeling that things can go well. Think about it: he has been on the podium in every race he has finished.”

Thus, Rigamonti summarizes the qualities of the nine-time world champion as follows: “I would describe Marc with two adjectives: complete and positive”. Complete, because he is in every aspect: in the box, on the track, training alone. He pays attention to everything. And positive, because he faces any problem with calmness. Races are problems: crashes, mechanical issues. If the rider remains calm, that helps everyone around him.

Is Márquez an obstacle to the bike's development?

One of the myths that have arisen around Marc Márquez is that his ability to be fast with any bike is a burden when it comes to developing it, as it becomes difficult to determine what works and what doesn’t.

Rigamonti refutes this claim, stating that “not at all. In fact, it has been another discovery. Contrary to what some say, Marc is very sensitive and precise in describing what happens with the bike. He identifies and defines it clearly, even if he can still give 100% of what he has.

“If you only looked at the stopwatch, yes, you could be mistaken. But if you combine that with his comments, you know that the development is on the right track. In fact, many of his comments coincide with those of Pecco [Bagnaia], and we know he is also very sensitive,” he expands.

Rigamonti continues, pointing out that “what distinguishes Marc is his ability to give it his all, even when he doesn’t feel completely comfortable. You can give him something that works worse, and he will tell you it’s worse, that he feels less comfortable, but he also knows he can go just as fast as with the other configuration. That, of course, makes a difference, and it shows in the results.”

The Greatest Limitation of Marc Márquez

Finally, Rigamonti addresses the delicate issue of Marc Márquez's injuries. And the truth is that, while he believes it doesn’t affect his performance, it is a fact that it complicates his life when it comes to positioning himself on the bike.

“It doesn’t show in the data. What we do see is that he has a bit more difficulty in certain right turns,” he begins to say. “But he says he has always had those problems, so I think it’s more related to his riding style. Given all the surgeries he has had on his arm, it’s hard for him to find a comfortable position because he lacks some strength.

However, Rigamonti prefers to see everything in a broad context and believes that the torment Márquez has suffered has allowed him to become an even more complete and formidable competitor.

“Maybe [it’s a limitation], but it could also be that the hell he went through pushed him to take a step forward mentally. It’s not just about the physical aspect, and probably all those surgeries made him improve in other areas, like risk management. This year, for example, he has crashed much less than usual,” he argues.

Ultimately, Rigamonti reveals that “working with Marc is easy because he makes it easy. When there’s a drop in performance, he explains the reason. With a crash, it’s the same. When the responsibility is his, he takes it on without hesitation. Sometimes he tells us that there are things he simply cannot do, because he couldn’t do them at Honda either, not even in Moto2. That gives you a lot of calmness,” he concludes.

Fuente: Motorsport.com