After completing a successful test at the Misano World Circuit in Italy, Marc Marquez returns to MotoGP action in this week’s Aragon Grand Prix in his native Spain. Marquez has been sidelined since the 2022 Italian Grand Prix, a race in which he finished 10th, due to an arm injury.
At the time, Marquez said at MotoGP.com: “Unfortunately, I have to take a break from the 2022 season that will keep me away from competition for a while. After all these months of intense work with my new medical team in Madrid, my physical condition has improved and I have reduced the discomfort in my right arm to be able to compete at the Grands Prix, but I still have significant limitations in my humerus that does not allow me to ride the bike properly and achieve the goals I have always set for myself.
“It is for this reason, that together with my medical team ... and after consulting with specialists from the Mayo Clinic, that I have made the decision to carry out a new operation with the aim of improving my position on the bike that will allow me to ride without the current limitations. Personally, I have the maximum motivation and enthusiasm to continue working and to make the effort to return to compete at the highest level.”
In the two-day test in Misano, Marquez steadily improved from 17th in the first practice session on Tuesday, skipped the afternoon test, but was 10th in the morning session on Wednesday, and seventh that afternoon. Marquez had a gap of 1.2 seconds to the session leader, Fabio Quartararo.
OFICIAL!! 😁 Muy feliz de anunciar que estaré de vuelta corriendo este fin de semana en el GP de Aragón 💪🏼 Full gas!!
— Marc Márquez (@marcmarquez93) September 13, 2022
OFFICIAL!! 😁 Big smile today as I will be racing again this weekend at the Aragon GP 💪🏼 Full gas!
-#MM93 pic.twitter.com/vXAEf8ywjK
Following the test, Marquez returned home to continue rehabbing his arm. He announced he was cleared to race on Tuesday.
Since earning his sixth MotoGP championship in 2019, Marquez has been plagued by an arm injury that was first sustained in the 2020 season opener at Qatar when he crashed multiple times and eventually made contact with his own tire. At the time, Marquez’s prognosis was day to day.
After missing the opening races of 2021, Marquez returned to the series with the Portuguese GP and finished seventh. That season, he earned three victories in 18 races including a stunner at the Circuit of the Americas when he led all 20 laps. Marquez also stood on the podium in Aragon in this race last year. Despite missing four races, he finished seventh in the standings.
As the arm continued to slow Marquez, he nevertheless showed consistency at the beginning of the season with results ranging from fourth to sixth in his first five starts. His 10th-place finish in the Italian GP gives him a sweep of the top 10 - a streak he hopes to continue with six rounds remaining in the 2022 season.