Marc Marquez likely to miss first 3 MotoGP races of 2021

Marc Marquez’s hard winter started last week when he was released from Ruber International Hospital in Madrid after the third operation to his humerus, the fifth delicate, painful surgery he has had in the last two years.

This latest chapter in his ordeal, from an arm injury that ruled him out of the 2020 MotoGP World Championship season, came on December 3, when the Spanish rider underwent 11 hours of surgery to remove a previously inserted plate and replace it with a new one using a bone graft from his hip. The operation was necessary due to the slow healing of the humerus, which had been operated on July 21 and August 3, following his July 19 injury at the Jerez GP. To further complicate matters, an update on Márquez’s third postoperative situation revealed a previous infection in the fracture, which required Márquez to undergo antibiotic treatment in the following weeks.

“When can I return back on track?” was Márquez’ first question when he opened his eyes after the long surgery at the Madrid hospital. It was exactly the same question he asked July 21 at the Dexeus Barcelona Hospital in Barcelona following his crash at Jerez.

“That time, Dr. Charte and Dr. Mir should have stopped me, being more realistic,” the rider confesses.

The 40 push-ups Márquez performed the day after his first surgery in an attempt to show the world that he was invincible came with a very high price. “The doctors told me that the plate could resist the force, but the bone it was screwed to failed. For this reason, I returned to the track two days after the surgery,” Márquez says. “When I jumped on my Honda I didn’t have doubts. I trusted the doctors. I’m brave but not reckless.”

Wrong.

According to the doctors, in fact, to fully recover from his latest operation Márquez needs to wait at least five months, meaning the Honda rider would miss the winter test and the first three races of the 2021 season (at Qatar, Argentina, and Texas). This time Márquez has learned his lesson.

“I will be back when I will be able to ride as I’m used to riding, to take the same risks. It would have no meaning to return earlier.”

MotoGP 2021, provisional calendar

28 March	Qatar
11 April	Argentina
18 April	America
2 May	Spain
16 May	France
30 May	Italy
6 June	Catalunya
20 June	Germany
27 June	Netherlands
11 July	Finland
Date to be confirmed	Venue to be confirmed
15 August	Austria
29 August	Britain
12 September	Aragon
19 September	Misano
3 October	Japan
10 October	Thailand
24 October	Australia
31 October	Malaysia
14 November	Valencia
Reserve circuits: Portugal – Algarve International Circuits Indonesia – Mandalika International Street Circuit (subject to homologation) Russia – Igora Driver Circuit