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Alex Marquez has hailed a fourth surgery for his brother Marc as an important step.
The six-time MotoGP world champion has been sidelined yet again, having endured a tough road since his somewhat infamous Jerez crash at the start of the 2020 season.
Having already failed to start two grands prix this year, Marc will miss this weekend’s action at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, with Honda test rider Stefan Bradl again filling in.
There is no firm commitment on when he will return, but there’s plenty of positivity surrounding the procedure judging by Alex’s comments.
“Now he is fine. He already said it by himself, he has taken off a big weight from his shoulders,” said the LCR Honda rider.
“In the end, this operation is peace of mind for him.
“He has been trying to get back to his level since long ago, but he always had limitations or pains and it was a real concern; [he thought] are there any solutions?
“Now it seems there’s a chance, it’s a fourth surgery but it has a solution and that’s the price he has to pay, but the feeling of enjoying riding the bike is priceless.”
Marc himself has said he hopes his latest time under the knife will give him a “normal life again”.
Even with already missing races, Marc is the highest placed Honda rider in the championship in ninth overall.
His team-mate at the Repsol-backed lead team, Pol Espargaro, is 12th, with LCR’s Takaaki Nakagami and Alex Marquez 13th and 18th respectively.
The latter has just one top 12 finish all year – seventh at Portimao – and has identified qualifying as a weakness.
“Qualifying is always a key moment, which is also a point we suffer at, not just me but all Honda riders,” said Alex.
“Maybe I do even a bit more because of my riding style, but it’s something I’m trying to improve.
“We are getting closer, but still miss key details. At Portimao, for example, I did not start back on the grid, so the race changes a lot and you don’t lose that much time at the start.
“During the first few laps I also struggle a bit on new tyres, so we are trying to find something else.”
Premier class action at the Catalan Grand Prix begins with Free Practice 1 from 17:55 AEST.
