As expected as it was, the news is not any less painful. Marc Márquez will not be taking part in the Argentine GP and third round of the MotoGP World Championship, which is to be held this weekend at the Autodromo Termas de Río Hondo.
His team, Repsol Honda, made the official announcement this Tuesday. The Spanish rider, fifth at the Qatar GP, is on indefinite leave with diplopia, an eye condition Márquez is familiar with, and that recurred after his horrendous accident during Warm Up prior to the Indonesian GP. The strong impact to his head and right side of the body, and the ensuing concussion, prevented him from taking the start at the Mandalika Circuit.
His eye problem first came apparent on the flight back to Spain and, on landing, Marc decided to go straight to the emergency department of the Hospital Clínico in Barcelona. There, his personal ophthalmologist, Dr Sánchez Dalmau, confirmed another episode of double vision, which follows the one he suffered in October after a motocross crash.
Austin still in the air for Marc Marquez
There is, however, still reason to be hopeful. In the same press release, the Japanese team also stated that the eye injury is evolving favourably. For this reason, the squad of the golden wing does not want to rule its main star out for the second of the two appointments on the American continent just yet.
Honda is still hanging on to the remote chance of getting the #93 fighting fit for the second appointment on the other side of the Atlantic: The United States GP, which will be held a week after Temas de Río Hondo.
A very favourable evolution
In this respect, the second medical examination this past Monday by Dr Sánchez Dalmau gave a much more favourable outlook. The specialist made this very optimistic assessment:
“The second neuro-ophthalmological assessment carried out on Marc this past Monday has shown a very favourable evolution regarding the paralysis of the fourth right nerve affected by the crash at the Indonesian Grand Prix. The recovery is not yet complete and, therefore, Marc will have to continue with the established therapeutic regimen with conservative treatment” – -stated Dalmau-.
Let’s not forget that the Austin track is one of Marc’s favourites. The Catalan pilot has claimed seven wins during his eight visits to the land of the oil fields, and that is only because in 2019 he crashed while he leading the race.
Bradl set to replace Mark in Argentina
Marc Márquez’s replacement in Argentina, a country that is back in the Moto GP World Championship circuit after a two-year coronavirus absence, will be the German pilot Stefan Bradl, The current test pilot of the Japanese team has been the man to replace the Spanish champion during his previous convalescences, the first one following his arm injury and, later on, the subsequent ones for his sight condition.
The 32-year-old rider, who had his contract as a Honda test and reserve rider renewed in 2021, has contested a total of sixteen races in replacement of Marc since 2020, eleven of which took place during that fateful season in which Marc began his nightmare journey to recover from a very serious injury in his right arm, and five in the subsequent season.
During the five years that he has been employed by Honda in a test pilot role, Bradl has run 33 Grand Prix races. The last time he competed in Argentina was in 2016 when he defended the colours of Aprilia and crossed the finish line in seventh place.
Images of Marc Márquez: Repsol Honda Team.
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