until Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League
Repsol Honda rider Marc Marquez is set to return to MotoGP action next week, with the six-time world champion getting clearance from his doctors to join the post-race test at Misano on Tuesday and Wednesday after the San Marino Grand Prix.
The return marks what will hopefully be the final chapter in the ongoing saga of the broken right arm he first suffered at Jerez in July 2020.
The latest operation – the fourth on the arm in question – involved travelling to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota to have the arm broken again and correctly reset.
He was initially banned by his doctors from moving it at all in the aftermath, but admitted during a visit to the Austrian Grand Prix last month that he was on the road to recovery and had returned to light training.
Finally receiving the clearance to ride a motorcycle only a few days later, he tested a Honda CBR600 at Motorland Aragon earlier this week with the intention of at least being ready in time for the crucial test at Misano this week, something that the team confirmed on Saturday is now very much the goal.
¡¡¡Adivinad quién está de nuevo sobre una moto!!!🤩
Guess who is back on a bike!!!🤩#MM93#EquipoRepsolHonda#RepsolHondaTeam pic.twitter.com/o5jCKr0d1M
— Box_Repsol (@box_repsol) August 31, 2022
“After two positive tests aboard a Honda CBR600RR at the MotorLand Aragon circuit on August 31 and September 2, Marc Marquez has gained valuable knowledge on the condition of his arm,” Honda’s statement read.
“With the information gained and satisfied with the progress of his right humerus, Marquez will now travel to the San Marino GP with the intention of testing his physical condition further on his Honda RC213V during the post-race MotoGP test.
“The eight-time [six in MotoGP, two in lower classes] world champion will arrive in Misano on Friday evening to once again observe and work alongside the Repsol Honda Team and HRC before aiming to take to the circuit on Tuesday.”
Can you follow me? Let's goooo💨#MM93 pic.twitter.com/n2s0NTkybQ
— Marc Márquez (@marcmarquez93) September 2, 2022
The Misano test has been a key target in his return for some time, thanks in large part to the necessity of turning around a disastrous run of form for Honda in his absence.
With Marquez having left behind a bike that no one but himself was able to successfully ride, that issue has become even more exacerbated of late, as the factory is currently in its worst run of form since 1981.
And, with two days of testing where the first prototype of the 2023 machine is set to appear, it means that Marquez will not only be able to try out the bike but also to add his own feedback to the first draft, ahead of the next chance to test it after the final round of the season in Valencia in November.
It’s not yet been confirmed by the team whether he intends on returning to race action in two weeks’ time at his home circuit of Aragon, where he tested last week, but it’s to be assumed that should the test at Misano go well, he will be fit enough to complete the remaining six rounds of the 2022 season as well.
