Marc Marquez will make his much-anticipated return to MotoGP action in this weekend’s French Grand Prix having recovered from the broken hand he sustained in Portimao earlier this season.
The six-time premier class champion has been absent from the premier class grid since suffering a fractured metacarpal in his right hand as a result of a clash between he and RNF Aprilia rider Miguel Oliveira in the opening laps of the Portuguese GP back in March, the Honda racer keen to make sure the injury had fully healed before making his return to prevent further problems arising.
In a statement released on Wednesday morning prior to the Le Mans encounter, Honda revealed that Marquez has been checked over by “three separate medical teams” in order to make sure he is fully fit to make his racing return, the Spaniard therefore able to take part in the Japanese manufacturer’s 1000th premier class outing.
“I am really happy to be back with the Repsol Honda Team, about to ride my bike again,” said Marquez.
“First of all I want to thank my medical team for their professionalism and advice over the past few weeks.
“Of course as a rider you always want to be back as soon as possible, but with an injury like this it was really important to allow it to heal. Now I am here and fully focused on riding, I have no worries about the injury since it’s fully healed.
“Let’s see what the French GP brings and most importantly, work to our maximum.”
Marquez will be able to focus fully on putting together a strong weekend at the French venue he had won at three times in MotoGP after having the long-lap penalty he received for his part in his clash with Oliveira annulled on Tuesday by the International Court of Appeal, bringing an end to the six-week long saga over the wording of the punishment.
He enters the weekend a lowly 19th in the riders standings having only recorded one finish so far this season – a third place finish in the Portuguese sprint race – his five point haul leaving him a distant 82 points away from the top of the title tree.
