Where do we start? First, the race winner. "His absence though might ironically help new man Pol Espargaro, who will be able to get to grips with the RC213V without one of its most successful ever riders watching over him.The number 93 wins, Pol Espargaro takes his first podium with Honda, Pecco crashes from the lead and Bastianini pips Quartararo to third with a last lap lunge "It goes without saying that so much of Honda's potential success this year depends upon just how fit Marc Marquez is," says Edward Russell, FOX Sports Asia's MotoGP presenter. "I am here in the Repsol Honda Team in order to achieve success and fight at the top, this is the goal for 2021." Repsol Honda will be hoping new addition Pol Espargaro can play a crucial role in their bid to return to the MotoGP summit this season. This excitement is motivating me to train more and be the best I can be for the 2021 world championship. The final step is to ride the RC213V for the first time. Every few weeks I have taken another step, seeing the bike at my home, now wearing the leathers. "To ride for Repsol Honda is every rider's dream and something to be truly proud of. It's been like waiting for my first season or my MotoGP debut. Pol Espargaro: "The lead up to this season has been one of the most exciting of my career. But we will see if it takes one race, two races, half the season to be the same Marc." "I can imagine the best comeback that is to start riding again the bike and be the same, but it will be difficult to be like this. "Of course, I would have liked to return sooner, but it is very important to listen to the doctors and my body until I am fully fit. But I have continued to work with the doctors, with my team and with myself to recover and return to MotoGP. Marc Marquez: "2020 was a difficult year for everyone and especially for me with the injury and watching the races from home. In the meantime, the onus will be on Espargaro, who secured five podiums in 2020 with Red Bull KTM, and Bradl, who finished strong last season, to keep Honda in the hunt.
It will be an impatient wait for Marquez's fans to find out if the ace rider can come out of the woods and become the rider they have come to know during the last decade. Mirco Lazzari gp/Getty ImagesÄespite Stefan Bradl standing in for preseason testing, 28-year-old Marquez made his first public appearance since the injury last month and has taken the first step in his long road towards a racing return when he took a RC213V-S street bike for a stroll at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Spain this month.
After virtually being a spectator last season due to injury, six-time MotoGP premier class world champion Marc Marquez will be hoping to return to his best in 2021. A return date for the Spaniard in 2021 is unknown, but there is some light at the end of the tunnel for Honda and its fans. Six-time premier-class world champion Marquez has had three surgeries to a right arm that suffered a fracture in a crash during the 2020 season opener last July and was further aggravated by a rushed comeback just five days later. Espargaro, the 2013 Moto2 world champion and the younger brother of Aleix of Gresini Racing, will mount Honda's challenge in 2021 starting with the season-opener in Qatar on March 28. Since then, Pol Espargaro replaced Alex Marquez, who left the factory team to join Honda's satellite LCR Team.
It was an unacceptable season, albeit filled with strokes of misfortune, for the most-decorated team in MotoGP history. Having never finished finished below fourth in 25 seasons prior to 2020, the Honda factory team had to settle for a lowly 9th place in the team standings in 2021, only bettering Aprilia among the six constructors. The bigger worry ahead of the 2021 campaign? Injured superstar Marc Marquez - whose absence was the main factor behind their woes last term - is still on the road to recovery having been out of action for the past eight months, with confirmation on Monday that he will miss the opening two races in Qatar. Repsol Honda are in uncharted territories ahead of the 2021 MotoGP world championship coming off the back of their worst-ever performance in the premier class last season.