If you've been a motorcycle racing fan for any length of time, chances are excellent that you've seen at least one crash of the type that makes you involuntarily suck your breath in (and maybe also grab your hair at the same time). And while the advent of airbag suits and enhanced rider safety technology has made it possible to walk away from a lot more crashes now than was ever possible in the past, they still take a toll.
Racers regularly face injuries, and they (and their teams) push them to come back to racing as soon as possible. That also goes for testing, training, and all the other everyday bits of stress and strain that go with all of those things. As this discussion between former professional motorcycle racer and Moto3 team manager Taylor Mackenzie and retired racer John Hopkins reveals, the factors behind why MotoGP racers don't stay at the top level of their sport as long as F1 racers do are many and varied.
No two racing careers are identical, after all. Marc Márquez has accomplished things no other racer has done so far; but he's also had far more (and worse) injuries to show for it. He's been very open about how negatively they impacted not only his physical health, but also his mental wellbeing. And, I mean, while most of us will never know what it's like to rack up as many MotoGP podiums or rider championship wins as he has, talking about the utterly demoralizing effect that serious injury can have on you, as well as the frustration you feel at not being able to get back to full power faster, is probably some of the most relatable that MM93 has ever been.
