MotoGP hits new ground this weekend, as the series returns to Indonesia for the first time since 1997, with a trip to the new Mandalika Circuit, in an event that could be telling for one of the tournament’s old guard.
Admittedly, the fact that only five riders on this 24-man grid are older than Marc Marquez still feels something of a phenomenon, given his notoriety owes so much to being the youngest to achieve much of what he has done in the sport, not to mention his baby-faced assassin nature.
But after a 2020 season written off by injury, and a 2021 campaign focused largely on getting back to full fitness, this year feels like it is the one where it will become clear whether he can still compete with those contenders for his many crowns in the Sports.
Given the circumstances that surround this race, a quick glance back into the history of Marquez in MotoGP, suggests that this trip to the far east could be a significant early indicator of the Honda man’s chances of doing just that.
Back in 2013, when Marquez was the man making his first strides into the premier class as a rookie in the Repsol Honda garage, the Spaniard was given an early chance to show just what he can do on a level playing field.
In just the second race of that 2013 season, MotoGP broke new ground – as it is doing in Indonesia this weekend – with a first-ever trip to the Circuit Of The Americas (COTA) in Texas.
With as much experience as anyone else on a MotoGP bike around that track – a handful of testing days – Marquez was in unbeatable form during the Championship’s first weekend at COTA.
By that Sunday night in America, Marquez had completed the hat-trick of pole position, fastest lap and race win, to become the youngest ever rider to stand on the top step of a MotoGP podium, at 20 years and 63 days.
Since then, Marquez has been almost untouchable when the series has traveled to Texas, failing to win at COTA only once, when he crashed out through an unforced error while well on his way to victory in 2019.
As a result, Marquez has made a circuit that he started on the most level of footings in COTA very much his own, and he now has the opportunity to start on the right track to doing the same in Indonesia this weekend.
Now fully fit, and with just the same number of testing days around the Mandalika circuit as any other member of the MotoGP grid, if Marquez can win, once more on that levelest of playing fields, it will be a clear sign that even after everything he has had to cope with in recent years, he can still compete with the best this series can throw at him.
Of course, with three race wins last year – including, of course, in Texas – there have already been indicators of the competitiveness that Marquez still has within him.
Those victories though, largely came on tracks that suited his style and recovery, or came as a result of incidents involving those ahead of him in the race.
But if Marquez can head into the unknown and show his adaptability in Indonesia over the next few days, it will be hard to argue with the suggestion that even in the face of everything he has had to deal with over the past couple of years, and Despite his status as one of the Championship’s elder statesmen, at 28-years-old, there is still plenty of time for him to claim many more victories, and plenty of talent and ability left to do that with.
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