Following rumours this week regarding Marc Marquez having surgery for the third time, and the subsequent press release by Repsol Honda denying such was the case, Saturday arrived with some unexpected breaking news. Just as his brother gears up for the Teruel GP, it has been known that the champion from Cervera will not compete again for the 2020 MotoGP World Championship. 

The news followed a statement by test driver and accidental replacement for Marc Marquez, Stefan Bradl: 

“So, I’m going to finish the season, I was assured of that yesterday. I don’t know if I can say it officially. But it’s a fact. “Marc has to concentrate on everything being okay (…)” -Bradl confirmed from MotorLand-.

“I don’t think it’s worthwhile for him to take the risk of trying anything. He has to get well again. In the meantime, there is still a lot of work waiting for me” – Stefan concluded -. 

Bradl unveils ‘the secret’ 

During the same interview, the German pilot revealed that his team had told him this past Friday that he will continue as Alex Marquez’ teammate until the end of the season. 

Bradl will, therefore, take part in the two consecutive rounds remaining in Valencia, as well as the subsequent tests in Jerez, before facing the season’s finale on November 21st in Portimao (Portugal). 

Obviously, if the German rider is replacing the current champion until the end of the season, the latter will be gone for the whole of the year; his plans of returning for the final races of the championship having gone up in smoke. 

Fans are concerned 

Bradl’s statement, which still has not been officially confirmed, has caused great agitation amongst the legions of fans and followers of the Catalan pilot, as well as the specialised press.  

In this sense, previous words of Honda’s team director, Alberto Puig, are not very reassuring as he recently acknowledged that the recovery of his star was proving slower than expected. 

 Questions and rumours regarding the health of #93 

Worryingly, the return of Marc Marquez has been postponed several times during the year, sowing doubts as to the real state of health of the pilot. On top of this, the lack of transparency on the issue displayed by the team has fuelled speculations. This week, in fact, a rumour spread over the possibility of Marc requiring a third surgery. 

Honda, however, has come out to emphatically deny those rumours. The pilot himself has also attempted to support his team’s statement by publishing a photograph in which he appears lifting some weights.

The image, however, didn’t put an end to the questions but rather had the opposite effect. Besides the speculation, what seems clear is that Marc’s recovery has not been as straightforward as everyone would have desired. 

Two surgeries, a hasty return and an endless convalescence 

For those who don’t remember, the #93 fractured his right humerus after a heavy fall during the Spanish MotoGP (July 19th), the opening appointment of the current season. 

Two days after the accident, Dr Xavier Mir intervened on him for the first time (July 21st) and fixed the fracture with a titanium plate. 72 hours after that, Marc reappeared at the Andaluzia GP, but he was not ready. 

Only 13 days after that hasty return, the team announced Marc Marquez needed a second surgical intervention to replace the first plate, which had broken. From that moment on, a tortuous recovery began of which there is still no end in sight. Throughout the weeks, the Spaniard has had to postpone his comeback on several occasions.  

Images of Marc Marquez: Box Repsol.