Marquez has been incapacitated since his abandoned comeback attempt at the Andalusia Grand Prix last July, just days after an operation on his right arm that he broke in the opening round of the 2020 season.
After two more surgeries since then, Marquez is finally showing signs of recovery and does not rule out his participation in the Qatar GP on March 28 – but will not be present at the pre-season test.
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When asked what kind of Marquez to expect on his return, Puig admits he doesn’t have a “straight answer” – but insists that what Honda expects of him is next to what Marquez expects of himself , is irrelevant.
“I think every rider has a time in their life when they have a major injury,” said Puig during the presentation of Honda 2021 last Monday.
“Marc had a big injury last year, not that big, but for a very long time. It took him out of the race for a long time, but you can’t change who you are, he’s a real champion and a very mature driver.
“I don’t have a straight answer to your question. I just know that he will find a way to still be Marc Marquez, and you can only do that yourself.
“Of course the team will help him, we will support him 100% as always, but what we expect, what we hope, what we think is nothing.
“The most important thing is what he expects of himself and what he thinks he has to do to get back to his full potential as before the injury.”
Puig was also asked why Honda chose Marquez to partner with Pol Espargaro this season, and the team principal added: “We hope he can bring results to the team.
“It’s true that he has past experience, good experience, he’s not a kid and his goal will also be to fight with all the drivers and also against Marc because that’s like a point of reference, we say.
“We hope that he will understand our bike soon and we expect and hope for a lot of competition within the team because that is what really keeps a team alive.
“When you have a good level of competition on your team, the level of your team grows.
“So we expect that, of course we hope that he likes our team and our bike and we are waiting for him and will try to give him our best material and our best bikes so that he can show his potential.”