Former 500 cc world champion Kevin Schwantz (57) believed after Marc Márquez’s victory at the German GP that he had regained his old form. But in Assen the problems returned.
Kevin Schwantz, 25-time half-liter GP winner, world champion in a Suzuki 1993, popular crowd favorite and daredevil from Texas, had six wins from Repsol Honda star Marc Marquez in his home race at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin from 2013 to 2018 admired. But in 2019 the series of successes broke – Alex Rins won ahead of Valentino Rossi.
For a year now, Schwantz has played a big part in the fate of Marc Márquez, who had a serious fall at the Jerez GP on July 19, 2020 and after three upper arm operations and two bone transplants, with the exception of the Sachsenring (5th place on the grid, victory in the race), never really again has convinced.
Kevin is not only surprised about the lack of consistency at Maverick Viñales (last in qualifying in Germany, pole position eight days later in Assen), he also observed the fluctuating performance of the six-time MotoGP world champion and 57-time MotoGP winner .
And after the sovereign triumph in Hohenstein-Ernstthal, Márquez couldn’t get past fifth place on the grid and seventh place in the race eight days later.
How does an expert like Kevin Schwantz explain these blatant differences in performance?
“The field and the times are so close today,” the 57-year-old American begins his attempt to explain. “As a driver, you think I can find these last few tenths on my own, for example by improving or adapting my driving style. In reality, you have to work non-stop on the motorcycle in every single session including warm-up on Sunday mornings. Then the work may not be over yet. I am convinced that final adjustments will even be made to the grid. Everyone wants to find out how they can get that little bit better. Then it’s about the start. Every manufacturer now has these special launch control devices and the rest of the stuff. Everyone builds in what brings them closer to the top and enables a better race space. “
That is why qualifying and the starting position are more important today than ever before, Kevin Schwantz is convinced. “If a driver gets stuck in front of you in qualifying and ruins a fast lap or if you make a mistake yourself, you hardly get a second chance in these 15 minutes.”
Honda test driver Stefan Bradl revealed a few days ago in an interview with SPEEDWEEK.com that Honda had still not found a solution to the problems with the new Honda RC213V, they were digging in old boxes from 2019 and also for material that had proven itself back then, when Marc captured twelve wins and six second places in 19 World Championship races.
The Bavarian also mentioned that with the current Honda chassis only 80 percent of the possible performance is teased out of the new soft rear tires from Michelin, which costs two to three tenths of a second in qualifying. And since all the other Honda drivers are slower than Marc, the development will now be tailored to him again.
The bike’s lack of competitiveness makes it difficult for Marc Márquez to return to the form of 2019.
The Honda engineers continue to seem at a loss. Márquez’s impatience in Assen after the heavy Friday highsider was clearly noticeable. “We urgently need improvements, at the next Grand Prix, not until 2022,” emphasized the 28-year-old Spaniard at the Dutch TT two weeks ago.
Can Suzuki legend Schwantz imagine that the Honda star will be completely the old dominator again in the foreseeable future?
“I’ve always been convinced that getting back to top form will take almost twice as long as the length of time you were injured. How long was Marc injured? Nine months. If you miss a race or two, it will take three to four races to get back into shape. Because first you have to regain your physical strength, then you have to regain your old strength mentally. “
«So Marc has done a good job for me since his return. Victory at the Sachsenring was definitely difficult, winning on this track that doesn’t give you a break, that deserves a lot of respect, ”praised Kevin. “You need physical and mental strength for this, Marc also qualified quite well there with 5th place. And he drove away from all opponents in the race. He fought his way to the top and stayed there. I thought that was a sign that he was back. But then came the bad crash in Assen and the miserable qualifying there. Marc fell again in Q1, and if you keep falling to the ground, your confidence will bulge. You then realize that your body is not bulletproof. It goes through your head: ‘The last time I had such a highsider as in Assen, it brought a year off.’ “
In his prime, Schwantz covered up the weaknesses of the Suzuki RGV 500 mostly with his outstanding driving skills and his inimitable vehicle control. Marc Márquez also practiced this for years.
The proof: In the 2019 season he collected 420 world championship points as world champion. As the second best Honda driver and ninth in the World Championship, Cal Crutchlow scored an incredible 287 points less. “Oh, my God,” sighed the ex-world champion from Texas when I revealed these numbers to him. “These are very informative facts.”
“There is no doubt that Marc used to tease more out of the bike than there was on it,” added Kevin. «Now after the injury break, Marquez is more of a normal person again. And the motorcycle remains a problem. “
MotoGP results, Assen, June 27th:
1. Quartararo, Yamaha, 26 laps in 40: 35.031 min
2. Viñales, Yamaha, + 2,757 sec
3. Mir, Suzuki, + 5,760
4. Zarco, Ducati, + 6,130
5. Oliveira, KTM, + 8.402
6. Bagnaia, Ducati, + 10.035
7. Marc Marquez, Honda, + 10,110
8. Aleix Espargaró, Aprilia, + 10,346
9. Nakagami, Honda, +12,225
10. Pol Espargaró, Honda, + 18,565
11. Rins, Suzuki, + 21,372
12. Binder, KTM, + 21,676
13. Petrucci, KTM, + 27.783
14. Alex Marquez, Honda, + 29,772
15. Bastianini, Ducati, + 32,785
16. Savadori, Aprilia, + 37,573
17. Gerloff, Yamaha, + 53,213
18. Marini, Ducati, + 1: 06.791
Status of the drivers’ championship after 9 races out of 19 races:
1. Quartararo, 156 Punkte. 2. Zarco 122. 3. Bagnaia 109. 4. Mir 101. 5. Miller 100. 6. Viñales 95. 7. Oliveira 85. 8. Aleix Espargaró 61. 9. Binder 60. 10. Marc Márquez 50. 11. Nakagami 41. 12. Pol Espargaró 41. 13. Morbidelli 40. 14. Rins 33. 15. Alex Márquez 27. 16. Bastianini 27. 17. Petrucci 26. 18. Martin 23. 19. Rossi 17. 20. Marini 14. 21 .Lecuona 13. 22. Bradl 11. 23. Savadori 4. 24. Pirro 3. 25. Rabat 1.
Status of the constructors’ championship:
1. Yamaha, 184 Punkte. 2. Ducati 167. 3. KTM 114. 4. Suzuki 105. 5. Honda 86. 6. Aprilia 62.
Stand Team-WM:
1. Monster Energy Yamaha, 251 Punkte. 2. Ducati Lenovo 209. 3. Pramac Racing 149. 4. Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 145. 5. Suzuki Ecstar 134. 6. Repsol Honda 98. 7. LCR Honda 68. 8. Aprilia Racing Team Gresini 65. 9. Petronas Yamaha SRT 57. 10. Esponsorama Racing Ducati 41. 11. Tech3 KTM Factory Racing 39.
– .
