Marc Marquez reportedly offered to give up the salary which he earned for the 2020 MotoGP season that he virtually took no part in.
According to Spanish sports newspaper AS, Marquez was prepared to give his earnings back to Honda, which rejected the offer.
The six-time premier class champion started only the first race of the season, in which he crashed out in dramatic fashion while on a charge back through the field following an early error.
He attempted to compete again in the days after the first operation on the broken humerus which he sustained, but abandoned that endeavour during qualifying and took no further part in any grands prix in 2020.
The salary revelation, if accurate, represents an interesting twist on the Marquez injury saga, which has come to be shrouded in mystery.
According to Carlo Pernat, a current MotoGP rider manager who is prominent in Italian media, Honda is/was investigating the circumstances around how the fracture was aggravated and a second operation triggered.
Marquez underwent further surgery in August due to damage to the titanium plate which had been fitted just after Round 1 at Jerez, with Repsol Honda team manager Alberto Puig putting that down to stress from riding during Round 2 combined with attempting to open a window/door at home.
Pernat, however, said there was suspicion that the 27-year-old had also ridden a bike without Honda’s knowledge.
Marquez is set to miss the start of the first season of his latest, four-year deal which was announced just under 12 months ago and takes effect this year, having needed a third operation in December due to pseudarthrosis (‘false union’).
Test rider Stefan Bradl is likely to continue as the superstar’s fill-in but, in a promising sign for the Honda camp, Marquez posed without the bracing on his right arm/shoulder during a Repsol photo shoot with new team-mate Pol Espargaro this week.
Ya tenemos a los dos pilotos del #EquipoRepsol juntos.
¿A que os gustaría saber de qué están hablando #MM93 y #PE44? 🤔
¿A que sí? 🤨We’ve already got the two #RepsolTeam riders together.
Wouldn’t you like to know what Marc and Pol are talking about? 🤔
I bet you would! 🤨 pic.twitter.com/GRCmNwVYUY— Box_Repsol (@box_repsol) February 10, 2021
He is reportedly set to have another examination in Madrid in the coming days.
MotoGP’s 2021 Shakedown Test takes place on March 5 in Losail, before the first Official Test of the year at the Qatar Grand Prix venue on the following two days.
Discussion about this post