Marc Marquez cleared for stunning MotoGP comeback after arm surgery

By Jul 23, 2020, 9:30 AM EDT
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SATURDAY UPDATE: Repsol Honda Team announced that Marc Marquez will sit out the second race of the MotoGP season despite being cleared (click to read story)

Just two days after surgery on a fractured right arm, defending MotoGP champion Marc Marquez has been approved for a stunning comeback in Sunday’s second race of the season (7:30 a.m. ET, NBCSN) after receiving medical clearance, according to the MotoGP site.

Marquez, who was injured during a crash in the July 19 season opener, was declared fit to ride in Sunday’s Andalucia Grand Prix in Jerez, Spain. He passed a fitness test Thursday after arriving at the Circuit de Jerez from Barcelona, where he had successful surgery Tuesday. He is planning to miss practice Friday but will test his condition Saturday in hopes of racing Sunday.

Repsol Honda Team manager Alberto Puig said in a Wednesday interview that Marc Marquez had no nerve damage but declined to give a timetable on the eight-time MotoGP champion returning and said the team was prioritizing the rider’s long-term health. During an interview Thursday, Puig expressed surprise about Marquez’s rapid comeback.

WATCH: How to see Marc Marquez’s return and the rest of the 2020 MotoGP season

“Nobody expected to see him here, clearly,” Puig said (watch the interview above). “When the accident happened, we were very worried. Of course, he had to move to Barcelona for surgery.

“And after surgery, the rider started to feel very well. He started to contact us and said I’m feeling very well. I’m not in so much pain. I can move the arm. The nerve situation, as the doctor informed, was OK.”

Puig said the team originally planned to bring back Marquez in two weeks but now “after what we saw of Marc’s wishes, and after the doctor said today that they declared him fit, we came to an understanding that he will try on Saturday, and depending on how he’s feeling, he will try to race (Sunday).”

MotoGP also said that Alex Rins of Team Suzuki Ecstar and Cal Crutchlow of LCR Honda also were declared fit to ride. Crutchlow also suffered a fracture during the opening weekend.

IndyCar results, points after Detroit Grand Prix

By Jun 5, 2023, 12:01 AM EDT
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DETROIT — Alex Palou topped the results of an NTT IndyCar Series race for the second time this season, extending his championship points lead with his victory in the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix.

The Chip Ganassi Racing driver, who also won the GMR Grand Prix (and the Indy 500 pole position) last month, holds a 51-point lead over teammate Marcus Ericsson (ninth at Detroit) through seven of 17 races this season.

Ganassi, which placed all four of its drivers in the top 10 at Detroit, has three of the top four in the championship standings with Scott Dixon ranked fourth after a fourth at Detroit.

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Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden is third in the standings after taking a 10th at Detroit. Pato O’Ward slipped to fifth in the points after crashing and finishing 26th

Here are the IndyCar results and points standings after the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix:

RESULTS

Click here for the official box score from the 100-lap race on a nine-turn, 1.645-mile street course in downtown Detroit.

Lap leader summary

Full lap chart

Best section times

Full section data

Event summary

Pit stop summary

Here is the finishing order in the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix with starting position in parentheses, driver, engine, laps completed and reason out (if any):

1. (1) Alex Palou, Honda, 100, Running
2. (7) Will Power, Chevrolet, 100, Running
3. (9) Felix Rosenqvist, Chevrolet, 100, Running
4. (4) Scott Dixon, Honda, 100, Running
5. (13) Alexander Rossi, Chevrolet, 100, Running
6. (12) Kyle Kirkwood, Honda, 100, Running
7. (2) Scott McLaughlin, Chevrolet, 100, Running
8. (11) Marcus Armstrong, Honda, 100, Running
9. (6) Marcus Ericsson, Honda, 100, Running
10. (5) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 100, Running
11. (24) Colton Herta, Honda, 100, Running
12. (17) Devlin DeFrancesco, Honda, 100, Running
13. (8) Simon Pagenaud, Honda, 100, Running
14. (20) Agustin Canapino, Chevrolet, 100, Running
15. (15) Conor Daly, Chevrolet, 100, Running
16. (18) Christian Lundgaard, Honda, 100, Running
17. (25) Jack Harvey, Honda, 100, Running
18. (14) Rinus VeeKay, Chevrolet, 100, Running
19. (23) Helio Castroneves, Honda, 100, Running
20. (19) Benjamin Pedersen, Chevrolet, 97, Running
21. (22) Santino Ferrucci, Chevrolet, 97, Running
22. (26) Sting Ray Robb, Honda, 97, Running
23. (21) David Malukas, Honda, 85, Contact
24. (3) Romain Grosjean, Honda, 80, Contact
25. (27) Graham Rahal, Honda, 50, Contact
26. (10) Pato O’Ward, Chevrolet, 41, Contact
27. (16) Callum Ilott, Chevrolet, 1, Contact

Winner’s average speed: 80.922 mph; Time of Race: 02:01:58.1171; Margin of victory: 1.1843 seconds; Cautions: 7 for 32 laps; Lead changes: 10 among seven drivers. Lap Leaders: Palou 1-28; Power 29-33; O’Ward 34; Palou 35-55; Power 56-64; Palou 65; Rossi 66; Newgarden 67-68; Kirkwood 69; Ericsson 70-76; Palou 77-100.

POINTS

Click here for the points tally in the race.

Here are the points standings after the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix:

Drivers

Entrants

Engine manufacturers

Pit stop performance

Top 10 in points: Palou 273, Ericsson 222, Newgarden 203, Dixon 194, O’Ward 191, Rossi 176, McLaughlin 175, Power 172, Herta 149, Rosenqvist 148.

Rest of the standings: Grosjean 145, Kirkwood 142, Lundgaard 136, Ilott 116, VeeKay 108, Ferrucci 105, Armstrong 101, Rahal 99, Malukas 91, Daly 88, DeFrancesco 81, Castroneves 80, Harvey 78, Canapino 77, Pagenaud 72, Pedersen 61, Robb 55, Takuma Sato 37, Ed Carpenter 27, Ryan Hunter-Reay 20, Tony Kanaan 18, Marco Andretti 13, RC Enerson 5, Katherine Legge 5.

Next race: IndyCar will head to Road America for the Sonsio Grand Prix, which will take place June 18 with coverage starting at 1 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock.