The Honda rider scored his first podium of the season on Sunday at Phillip Island, narrowly missing out on victory to Suzuki’s Alex Rins in second.
It marked the 100th podium of his MotoGP career and comes just four races into his comeback from the fourth major operation he had on the right arm he badly broke in 2020.
Marquez admitted at the time of his fourth operation that he didn’t feel his career would last much longer without it, owing to the difficulties he was facing on the bike due to the right humerus bone having rotated 30 degrees following his first three surgeries.
Reflecting on his milestone podium in Australia, Marquez said: “In the last lap I tried, I tried with Rins. But he defended in a good way.
“So, when I saw he was defending well… I mean, sometimes you can’t forget where you have come from.
“But I tried my 100%, and I’m happy because it’s one year without any great news inside our box and now it’s coming.
“We are coming into a good atmosphere, things are coming well and that’s positive.”
Marquez says the Phillip Island race was the first he has enjoyed since that fateful 2020 Spanish GP.
However, he did move to quell suggestions that this podium was his true return to the front in MotoGP, noting that it came at a circuit that puts less stress through the right side of a your body and in a race where the pace was very slow for the first help.
“The last race I enjoyed was 2020 at Jerez,” he added.
“That race was one of my best in my career, and the finish of that race was not the best one.
“But it was the best one about performance and I enjoyed it a lot. Today I enjoyed it again, but we need to be realistic.
“It’s a left circuit, the pace was super-slow and also I wasn’t pushing a lot the first 10, 15 laps with that soft rear tyre.
“I was managing the tire and also my physical condition. In Malaysia we will struggle again, but in Valencia we will have another chance to be in front again I believe.”
Marquez gambled on running the soft rear tire on Sunday and was the only rider to do so, but felt it was a necessary risk despite Honda’s reservations as he believes he would have struggled on the harder compounds.
“We are coming better and better,” he said.
“Honda is working hard. There’s nothing for the game now, but they’re working really hard for 2023.
“This podium means a lot to keep the motivation to show to them that still the rider that won six titles with Honda is there.
“Always they believe in me a lot. Today to choose that soft rear tire was my decision.
“They were against it, but I said ‘guys, I will take the gamble, I will take the responsibility’.
“If I’m the only one of the grid it doesn’t matter, it’s the only way to be there with this Honda because with the other tires I know what the problems will be.”
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