Marquez has been out of action since the Andalusia Grand Prix last July when he broke his right arm in the first race at Jerez and has undergone three surgeries since then.
The six-time MotoGP world champion’s arm is now recovering and he’s started preparations for his return in 2021 after getting back into motorcycling.
Earlier today, Marquez and his Honda Repsol team did laps on a Honda RC213V-S at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
Although a date for his MotoGP return has not yet been announced, Marquez hasn’t ruled out the start of the GP for the season opener in Qatar and is on the tentative roster.
Crutchlow, who rode LCR for Honda from 2015-2020, has no doubt that Marquez will be quick on his return, despite having watched eight months without a bike.
Also read:
“As for Marc, Marc Marquez is Marc Marquez,” said Yamaha test rider Crutchlow. “When he comes back he’ll never be slow. That’s for sure.
“And we’re all looking forward to it. Everyone expects them to ride as fast as possible but I think they know they need to take their time and come back. But he’s not going to be a slow driver or anything. But it will take time for it to build up and readjust.
“But you say that Marc could be the fastest after three laps. You never know, we have no idea. I think even the riders want him to come back and hopefully he’ll come back soon and be fit and ready. “
Despite being able to start cycling again, Marquez was absent from pre-season testing in Qatar last week.
During Honda’s 2021 launch event last month, Team Principal Alberto Puig noted that HRC’s expectations of Marquez are irrelevant to his own expectations as a driver – but believes he will “find a way” to be the same again .
Honda’s pre-season testing was a mixed bag. The brand had the most falls between their riders, with LCR’s Alex Marquez earning the highest accolade with five falls, the last of which left him with a broken foot on the penultimate day.
Pol Espargaro had a crash but was impressed with his Honda debut. He finished the test in tenth place just 0.716 seconds behind the pace and was rated “pre-season” by Ducati’s Jack Miller.