Marc Marquez will delay his MotoGP return until next year, his Honda squad announced on Tuesday.
The reigning premier class world champion has been out of action since sustaining a broken right arm in a nasty crash in the season-opening Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez.
Marquez had attempted to ride in practice just a few days later at the repeat Jerez event but abandoned his plans and has not ridden competitively since.
It was later announced that the Spaniard had damaged his shoulder to an even greater extent after apparently trying to open a window at home, forcing him out of competition for the foreseeable future as he recovered.
Rumours linked him with a possible return for either Aragon or possibly the final triple header events of the year at Valencia and Portimao, though neither scenario came to pass.
Replacement rider Stefan Bradl let slip in Aragon that he would continue to deputise for Marquez across the rest of ’20, though Honda elected to remain silent on the matter at the time.
The Japanese manufacturer have subsequently released a short statement on the matter ahead of this weekend’s Valencia GP, confirming that Marquez will “not participate in the remainder of the 2020 MotoGP season”, adding that he “aims” to return to the track for the ’21 campaign.
“As his recovery continues, Marc Marquez and the Repsol Honda Team confirm he will not participate in the remainder of the 2020 MotoGP season and aims to return to racing in 2021,” began Honda’s statement.
“Working through his recovery programme and tracking the progress of his arm, Marc Marquez in conjunction with Honda, his team and multiple expert doctors, has elected to officially delay his return to action until 2021.”
Honda have suffered for form as a result of the loss of its world champion, the marque yet to score a race victory so far this season – though both LCR’s Takaaki Nakagami and reigning Moto2 world champion Alex Marquez have threatened to break through.
Marquez displayed race-winning speed at both the French and Aragon GPs – finishing both events in second – while Nakagami claimed pole in Aragon prior to falling on the opening lap.
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