From Agony to Ecstasy: How Marc Marquez returned to the top step of the MotoGP podium

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Marc Marquez took his first MotoGP victory in 581 days on Sunday at the Sachsenring as he held off Miguel Oliviera who piled pressure onto the Spaniard all race long.

What makes this victory so special and why was every MotoGP fan across the world hoping that the eight-time champion would hold on to secure this landmark triumph in Germany?

Firstly, we need to wind back the clock to November 2019.

Marquez’s previous victory in MotoGP came at the final round of the 2019 season in Valencia, in what was an incredibly dominant year for the Spaniard, where he wrapped up his eighth title with four races to spare at the Thai Grand Prix.

The Repsol Honda man came out on top just over a second ahead of Fabio Quartararo and Jack Miller who rode his Pramac Ducati into third.

Fast-forwarding to the spring of 2020, the Spaniard used the first COVID-19 lockdown period to fully recover from surgeries to treat shoulder problems that had been troubling him for a couple of years.

At the opening round of the delayed 2020 season, Marquez suffered a nasty accident as his Honda violently threw him out of the saddle into the air – sending him tumbling through the gravel trap, sustaining a fractured humerus in his right arm.

He bravely attempted to return to action the next week at the Andalusian Grand Prix, again at Jerez, however the Spaniard couldn’t bare the pain and withdrew from the race weekend following Saturday’s Q1 session in which he failed to post a time.

Marquez was forced to sit out the rest of the campaign as his injury required three surgeries to treat infection and aggravation to the injury.

The 28-year-old missed the first two rounds of the 2021 season in Qatar, before making a full return at the Portuguese Grand Prix.

In his first weekend back in action, the Spaniard qualified sixth and valiantly finished seventh as he withstood immense pain to make a remarkable return.

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Two weeks later, MotoGP returned to Jerez, where Marquez suffered his near career-ending crash. However, in the race, he came home to finish ninth.

The following three rounds at Le Mans, Mugello and Catalunya saw the Repsol man crash out – luckily no further injuries were sustained.

Next up was Sachsenring, Marquez’s unbeaten territory in MotoGP, which has seen him become dubbed ‘the King of the Ring.’

Arguably the Spaniard’s strongest track, where he has won every race at the German circuit since 2011, saw him top Friday’s FP1 session.

He qualified fifth and was in with a great shot of winning the German Grand Prix, as the Sachsenring is the first anti-clockwise circuit of the season with 10 lefts and three rights. This means the stresses going through his right arm would be significantly less than previous rounds at clockwise circuits like Mugello and Jerez.

Marquez made the most of the tight turn one to gain four positions, promoting himself up to second behind Aleix Espargaro, who he managed to snatch the lead from at the end of lap two.

Miguel Oliviera wanted to claim back-to-back victories, however a well-executed race strategy in the decisive moments, saw Marquez win his first race in over 20 months.

In Parc-Ferme following the conclusion of the race, the Spaniard was overcome with emotion.

There’s no doubt that Marquez will get back to his very best over the coming months as he continues to get back up to speed, which will make the battle at the top of the timesheets evermore interesting with the feisty Spaniard in the mix.

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