Madrid: Repsol Honda rider Marc Marquez of Spain has said that he has completely recovered from his shoulder injury and his team and friends were the best antidote to help combat his stress levels.
Marquez spoke in an exclusive interview with EFE before a promotional event held here on Wednesday where he was set to become an ambassador for video streaming service DAZN.
“I do not know if I would need it (a psychologist) in the future, but for now the best thing that can happen to me is to have a team around me and some people with whom I live day by day,” Marquez said.
While talking about his team and friends, the 25-year-old said: “They are my best psychologists.
“I feel comfortable, and that is why I cannot ask for something more,” he added.
The 25-year-old underwent surgery on December 4 in order to resolve a persistent dislocation in his right shoulder, an injury that the Spanish driver said had healed.
Marquez also said his shoulder had been getting better and better throughout preseason testing held earlier in the month, first at the Sepang Circuit in Malaysia and then at Losail International Circuit in Qatar.
The racing star said he was not able to race for more than five consecutive laps at Sepang without feeling pain in his shoulder, but he felt great improvement in Qatar.
Honda and Repsol celebrated 25 years of collaboration in Madrid on January 23, with Marquez and his teammate and three-time MotoGP world champion Jorge Lorenzo showing off to the press their new 2019 Repsol Honda team RC213V bikes.
Marquez said the team was focused on the bike engine during Qatar testing, as they were in 2017 and 2018, because changing the bike engine and overall design throughout the season begins early.
“Normally, the bike you start the season with does not look too much like that one you finish it with,” Marquez said.
In predicting who will race well this season, set to start on March 10, Marquez said he expected his fellow Spanish racer Alex Rins of Team Suzuki to make a splash in 2019, adding that he and Lorenzo needed to pay close attention to all the competitors.
[source_without_link]IANS[/source_without_link]