MADRID — Honda’s Marc Marquez will miss the second round of the MotoGP championship in Argentina after undergoing surgery to repair a fracture in his right hand following a collision with Miguel Oliveira in the season-opening race, the team said.
The Spanish professional Grand Prix racer, Marquez, lost position in the opening laps of the Portuguese Grand Prix Sunday to drop to fourth when he clipped Pramac Racing’s Jorge Martin before barging into RNF Racing’s Oliveira who was in second place.
Marquez and Oliveira crashed out of the race after the incident. Marquez, a six-times premier class champion, later apologised for his mistake.
“Upon returning to Spain for further checks, Marc Marquez was diagnosed with a displaced intra-articular fracture of the base of the first metacarpal of the thumb of the right hand,” Honda said in a statement according to Reuters.
“After surgery to repair the broken first metacarpal in his right hand, Marc Marquez will miss the second round of the 2023 MotoGP World Championship.”
The Argentina GP will be held this weekend at the Termas de Rio Hondo Circuit.
“Oliveira underwent further testing in his hometown where further damage has been revealed, which doesn’t allow him to start the second GP of the season,” the statement added.
“Despite the setback, Oliveira remains committed to his goal of being competitive in the world championship and will focus on his recovery in order to return to round three of the season in Austin, Texas just two weeks later.”
Race officials penalized Marquez for what they ruled “irresponsible riding.” He was handed a double long lap penalty, which requires riding through an area of the track designed to add extra time to the lap.
Marquez, who started from pole position, accepted the penalty after what he called “a big mistake.” He apologized to everyone affected by his error.
Italy’s Francesco Bagnaia, who gave Ducati its first title last year since 2007, won the opening event of the season ahead of Maverick Viñales.
Oliveira’s withdrawal also means that nearly 20 per centof the MotoGP grid will be absent through injury after only one round of the series’ longest-ever season, with him and Marquez joining rider Pol Espargaro and Ducati’s Enea Bastianini on the injury list. None of the four are expected to be replaced for this coming days.
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