The six-time MotoGP world champion qualified sixth and finished seventh in his first race since his right arm broken at the Spanish GP last year, which would require three surgeries and exclude him from the 2020 season.
Marquez burst into tears when he returned to his Honda garage after the race and admitted that he had “exploded” with emotion after dreaming about the race for so long.
Portuguese winner Fabio Quartararo said after the race he wasn’t surprised that Marquez was so strong on his first weekend.
“I expected that,” he said of Marquez’s race.
“He finished a little more than 10 seconds before the lead, but he never made 25 [laps] in a row [at Portimao]. For me, this track is the most physical track on the calendar.
“Now he knows the feeling of driving a full race on a tough track.
“Now he’s returning to a track that he knows pretty well in Jerez. For me it’s the result that I expected and in qualifying it was impressive. So he’s back. “
Reigning world champion Joan Mir echoed Quartararo’s thoughts and added: “I expected such a result from Marc for me too.
“The truth is he looks almost 100% good and made a strong comeback. The truth is that he was really, really strong this weekend too.
“It’s the first test he’s done with the Honda and it’s definitely not the same Honda it was when he left. This makes everything harder even if you’re not 100%, so it’s harder.
“He and his team did a great job and managed to finish the first Honda.”
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Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia notes that if he hadn’t been competitive, Marquez would not have returned last weekend and is confident that he will be at the forefront at the next Spanish GP.
“I expected his return to be like this,” said Bagnaia.
“And after a weekend like this, he qualified sixth in the first session, sixth in the second session and sixth.
“So I thought he was trying to fight for the top 10 and he came in seventh. So I thought that he was able to get such a result.
“I also think he wouldn’t return if he wasn’t 100% so I think he’s at the top physically.
“Of course, cycling is physically different and doing 25 laps is difficult. But he did what I expected and in Jerez he will be at the forefront for sure. “