Marc Marquez was the comeback kid once again at COTA after the Repsol Honda rider salvaged sixth place from the back of the grid.

Having already overcome the odds to even line up in Texas after his Indonesia injury and returning diplopia condition, Marquez didn’t get the best of starts in the AmericasGP after a technical issue on the grid saw his RC213V seemingly at a standstill as the pack swept by.  

The dramatic start made for an even more dramatic race as the eight-time champion began to work his way back up the standings at an impressive rate before determined late-race tussles with Monster Energy Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo saw his progress stall just shy of the top five.

“Disappointed of course, because the speed was there,” Marquez said of his Sunday showing stateside.

“I enjoyed a lot on the race, starting from the back but okay, 25 points today was possible.

We had a technical problem on the start.,” he continued. “Already some message on the screen before and then I start and since first corner was like, was not the pit-limiter in, but was like something happened on the bike. But then when disengage everything, the holeshot device and everything, the bike start to work in a good way. So from that point I was last, even far from the last guy and I started to recover many positions. I did a few mistakes but is normal overtaking many riders, and we finish sixth. So yeah, the speed was there. Confidence. I go out from here with a higher confidence so this is the most important.”

While the progress was impressive, the saves were likewise.

“The thing is that when you overtake riders here is very difficult,” Marquez explained. “Especially in the first laps because with the slipstream is so difficult stop the bike and in turn one I was very lucky.

“I tried to stop but then when I saw that it was not possible to stop, I find a small gap between Nakagami and Binder and I released the brakes to don't hit anybody. This was the most scary moment.

“Then I had the moment in turn ten also and also then a nice battle with Fabio. I was destroyed in the end because I push, from the first lap I push everything. When you start in front then you can manage your physical condition, you can manage the tyres but when you start on last position, I just give everything. Last five laps I was destroyed.

“In T1 and T2 I was losing a lot because in the change direction I was very slow. But anyway I keep Fabio behind. Just one point more but okay, the most important is that our confidence are higher.

“Now it's time to come back home, relax. Breathe, because it was so stressful these last weeks and also this GP. Try to prepare Portimao.

“We know that in Portimao, top five position maybe can be a nice position, but just I don't fix any targets. We need to continue in that way. Just try to understand what is our level now, right now. And then still keep going.”