Marquez to miss opening two MotoGP races in Qatar
Honda has announced six-time MotoGP world champion Marc Marquez will not contest the opening two rounds of the 2021 season in Qatar.
Marquez has been out of action since last July when he broke his right arm in a heavy fall during the opening Spanish Grand Prix. He will undergo a further medical check-up on 12 April according to Honda, which also rules him out of the Doha GP in Qatar next weekend.
PLUS: What Marquez will we get on his much-needed MotoGP return?
HRC is yet to confirm this, but Marquez revealed it on social media.
"After the last check-up with the medical team, they have advised me not to participate in the two Qatar races so we will continue with the recovery to return to compete as soon as possible,” he wrote on Instagram.
He has since undergone three operations, the last of which coming in December when he had bone grafted onto his humerus from his hip.
He was also treated for an infection in the arm from the second operation he had back in August following an aborted comeback just days after his first surgery at the Andalusian GP.
Marquez’s arm started to show signs of proper recovery following his third operation, with the Honda rider cleared to begin training with bikes again earlier this month.
Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda Team
Photo by: Repsol Media
Despite this, doctors have advised him against racing in this weekend’s opening round of the 2021 campaign in Qatar.
“After the last review with the medical team, the doctors have advised me that the most prudent thing was not to take part in the Qatar Grand Prix and to continue with the recovery plan that we have followed in recent weeks,” Marquez said.
“I would have loved to be able to participate in the opening race of the world championship, but we will have to continue working to be able to recover the optimal conditions that allow us to return to competition.”
Marquez’s doctors’ decision to advise against racing in Qatar was motivated by a desire to avoid putting strain on the still-recovering humerus through “intense competition” following such a length period of inactivity.
Marquez made his first public appearance with Honda last month at the factory team’s 2021 launch event, and confirmed then racing in the first Qatar race was a target.
However, he conceded this decision will be dictated by advice from his doctors – Marquez giving clear signals he has learned from the mistakes made last July.
Marquez has been in action in Barcelona and at the Algarve Circuit in Portugal riding an RC213V-S Honda track bike over the past week having stepped up his training.
Though Honda is yet to confirm his replacement, his place will likely taken by HRC test rider Stefan Bradl, who stood in for the injured six-time MotoGP world champion from the Czech GP onwards last year.
Related video
Morbidelli’s Yamaha MotoGP upgrades “substantial” for 2021
Marquez ‘doesn’t trust Qatar’ to show MotoGP grid form
Why Honda and Yamaha have been left behind in MotoGP's new era
The once all-conquering Japanese manufacturers are going through a difficult period in MotoGP this season. With Suzuki quitting, Honda struggling to get near the podium and Yamaha only enjoying success courtesy of Fabio Quartararo, Japanese manufacturers have been left in the dust by their European counterparts. Key paddock figures explain why.
Who is Valentino Rossi’s newest MotoGP star?
Valentino Rossi’s protégés stole the show at Assen as Francesco Bagnaia stormed to victory to arrest a recent barren run. But it was the rider in second, on Bagnaia’s old bike, who had all eyes on him. Securing his and the VR46 team’s first MotoGP podium, Marco Bezzecchi has all the characteristics that made his mentor special
How Quartararo is evoking an absent MotoGP great in 2022
OPINION: Fabio Quartararo has seized control of the 2022 MotoGP world standings after another dominant victory as his nearest rivals faltered. And he is very much heading towards a second championship echoing how the dominator of the last decade achieved much of his success
The human importance of Marquez’s latest enforced MotoGP absence
OPINION: Marc Marquez will likely sit out the remainder of the 2022 MotoGP season to undergo a fourth major operation on the right arm he badly broke in 2020. It is hoped it will return him to his brilliant best after a tough start to the season without a podium to his name. But it’s the human victory that will far outweigh any future on-track success he may go on to have
Why Ducati holds all the power in its MotoGP rider dilemma
OPINION: The French Grand Prix looks to have made Ducati’s decision on its factory team line-up simpler, as Enea Bastianini stormed to his third win of the campaign and Jorge Martin crashed out for a fifth time in 2022. But, as Ducati suggests to Autosport, it remains in the strongest position in a wild rider market
The seismic aftershock left by Suzuki's decision to leave MotoGP
Suzuki's sudden decision to leave the MotoGP World Championship at the end of the season has acted as a stirring element in a market that had already erupted. Autosport analyses what this means for the grid going into 2023
How the real Ducati began to emerge in MotoGP’s Spanish GP
Ducati’s 2022 MotoGP bike has had a tough start to life and the expected early-season title charge from Francesco Bagnaia did not materialise. But the Spanish Grand Prix signalled a turning point for both the GP22 and Bagnaia, as the 2021 runner-up belatedly got his season underway after a straight fight with Fabio Quartararo
How Honda's praise for its 2022 MotoGP bike has turned into doubt
In a little over two months, Honda has gone from setting the pace in MotoGP testing with its new RC213V prototype to being at a crossroads - caused by the discrepancy in its riders' feedback. After a Portuguese GP that underwhelmed, serious questions are now being asked of Honda in 2022