Marquez withdraws from German MotoGP

Marc Marquez has withdrawn from the German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring after crashing in morning warm-up.

The Repsol Honda rider sustained a fractured finger in the incident but was passed fit to race.

However, a short statement from his Repsol Honda team on Sunday said the 30-year-old would not participate in the main race at round seven of the MotoGP World Championship.

It read: “Marc Marquez has elected to miss the German Grand Prix after suffering a crash at Turn 7 during morning Warm Up.”

Marquez was unbeaten in a MotoGP race at the Sachsenring until Saturday’s Sprint race, when he finished in a lowly 11th after struggling with the factory RCV throughout practice and qualifying.

The six-time premier class champion crashed at Turn 1 under braking in second practice on Friday, wiping out Johann Zarco in a horror collision that ripped the Frenchman’s Pramac Ducati apart. Both riders escaped unscathed.

The Spanish rider then crashed three times over the course of Q1 and Q2 on Saturday, before his painful high-side at Turn 7 in morning warm-up made it five crashes in total.

On Friday, Marquez made his displeasure with the RCV known after giving the finger to the machine in a moment of frustration after surviving a big moment at the fast Turn 11 Waterfall corner.

His withdrawal from Sunday’s race is another setback for Honda, with Marquez’s team-mate, Joan Mir, missing due to a hand injury while Alex Rins is also out with a broken leg. Japanese rider Takaaki Nakagami is the sole Honda rider left on the grid but has also been hampered by a hand injury, which he suffered in a crash on Friday.

Marquez, who last won a MotoGP race at Misano in 2021, will now hope to be fit for the Dutch round at Assen next weekend which is the last outing prior to the summer break.