One year after wrapping up the MotoGP championship in Japan, Marc Marquez returns with his 2015 title chances all but over and nursing a new hand injury.
Marquez's hopes of a perfect third title have been wiped away by five race falls, the latest of which occurred on the second lap at Aragon.
Just days later, the Repsol Honda star broke his hand in a mountain bike accident. Surgery was required and, given the short amount of healing time, the Spaniard will obviously be at less than 100% fitness this weekend.
"Aragon was a tough race and I made a mistake, now I'm eager to get to Japan and try to end the season at the top,” Marquez said.
“Unfortunately last week I had a training accident whilst mountain biking and suffered a fracture in my left hand. I had an operation on Wednesday and have been resting it since. I'm healing well and hope to be as fit as possible for this weekend.
“Track conditions in Motegi can vary quite a lot and we will work hard on the set up in terms of the hard acceleration and braking in order to be at the front come Sunday. I hope we can have a good result in front of Honda's home fans!"
Marquez was expected to challenge Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo at each of the remaining four rounds, adding a further uncertainty to the championship battle between the Yamaha riders.
The #93 finished between Lorenzo and Rossi in last Motegi year's race, which is again the first of three events in three weekends.
Despite his accidents, Marquez has managed to win four races so far this season, the same number as title leader Rossi.
Thứ Năm, 8 tháng 10, 2015
Marquez still has title aspirations
Repsol Honda rider Marc Marquez says that his injured hand is not a problem for now, ahead of the MotoGP Japanese Grand Prix this weekend.
Repsol Honda rider Marc Marquez says that his injured hand is not a problem for now, ahead of the MotoGP Japanese Grand Prix this weekend.
In a post-Aragon mountain bike accident, Marquez needed a plate inserted after fracturing the fifth metacarpal of his left hand.
In a chat with media on Thursday in Motegi, Marquez said that he would only know how bad the hand would feel after Friday’s practice sessions.
"My injury is not bad. Okay, it is a little bit different to Jorge [who sprained his shoulder in a training accident] because the bone is broken but I feel okay," Marquez said at Motegi.
"We will see tomorrow how it is on the bike, especially the braking points where we are pushing a lot. We intend to use a special [modified] handlebar. Otherwise, I feel well, I feel ready and we will try to do our best this weekend."
On Sunday, if Marquez does not stay within 75 points of the leaders in the championship standings then he will have no way of being in contention to defend his MotoGP Championship title.
"The championship has gone many races ago, maybe at Silverstone definitely. But at Aragon I made a big mistake because there I was ready to fight for the victory," said Marquez.
"Now at this race we will see what can be the target, the podium or the top five, it depends on the injury. There are three races in a row, so also this will be tough for the physical condition. We need to manage it well and try to finish the season in a good way."
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