MotoGP: Marc Marquez -“I do not have a grudge, but I would not try to shake Valentino Rossi’s hand again.”

Marc Marquez has been speaking to the Spanish media ahead of the MotoGP preseason testing kicking off in Sepang – talking about his rivalry with Rossi, the arrival of Lorenzo at Repsol Honda, and his recent recovery.

Ahead of the 2019 MotoGP season kicking off in earnest, Marc Marquez has been talking about his rivalry with Valentino Rossi – and it seems Marquez has a lot of respect for the iconic Italian racer. He said: “I am the first to admire what he is doing at the age of 40, with everything he has achieved and with the same motivation, he is a reference driver.

However, that doesn’t mean the two aren’t destined to be best pals quite yet (at least while they’re racing one another), with Marquez adding: “I would not try to shake his hand again. You do it once and that’s it. At no time do I have a grudge or things like that.”

Marquez also spoke about his recovery, after undergoing surgery in December to solve a long-standing problem with his left shoulder. He said: “It is hard because it is mentally exhausting . I operated, I did not have a vacation, and in one week I started the recovery process. It is hard because I have an average of five hours a day every day and it is hard psychologically because you see that it is progressing very slowly.”

The five-time MotoGP Champion then went on to talk about his new teammate; Jorge Lorenzo. He commented: “He will be very fast, he will adapt to the Honda and more when you get to a winning project you have to win. So I think he will do well”.

Speaking about potential friction between himself and Lorenzo, Marquez said: “The rubs will be inside the track. I think we were both professional enough. With Jorge I’ve always been very good. In 2013 we had our more and our less but it is more what people say. In Aragón 2018 we called and nothing happened and this has to be the keynote throughout the year.”