Honda is investigating whether or not Marc Marquez actually broke the plate in his already injured arm while riding a bike, according to a prominent MotoGP rider manager.
Marquez has now had three operations on his broken right humerus (upper arm) after a shocking crash in the first race of the 2020 season, and is likely to miss at least the start of the upcoming campaign.
The second of those procedures occurred just 13 days after the first, and was necessary due to damage to the titanium plate which was originally inserted.
While Marquez rode at the second Jerez event during that 13-day span, an endeavour he called off after qualifying, Repsol Honda Team Manager Alberto Puig said the plate had been broken while “trying to open a window” (or door, as he later corrected himself), at home.
Almost six months on from the second operation and Puig’s subsequent explanation, doubts have now been raised about that version of events.
Carlo Pernat, in the most recent of his regular commentary segments with Italian outlet GPOne.com, claims that there is suspicion about the truthfulness of the world champion’s claims.
“Honda is investigating Marquez’s credibility, not the decision of the doctors,” he stated.
“Let me explain. They’re investigating the truth of that door episode, because the problem might not have stemmed from there.
“I think Marc got on a bike and Honda didn’t know it.”
Honda and the medical staff involved have come in for criticism for their management of the matter as Marquez’s time on the sidelines continues.
At the time of the window/door revelation, however, Puig claimed that Marquez would not have been allowed to ride his RC213V again at Jerez if the plate break was a known possibility.
“It was a domestic accident this time because he was trying to open a window and he suddenly felt a lot of pain and later we could see that the plate was broken,” said Puig, himself a former rider.
“This is caused after all the stress that he had in the arm, but as you know we went to Jerez with conviction that we could do it.
“The doctors were OK [for him] to do it and they never informed us that the plate could have broken.
“If we had this info, probably he wouldn’t have gone to Jerez, Honda will not have given him the chance to ride.”
Marquez has been a regular on the operating table in recent years, including for surgery to address the regular dislocations of his left shoulder during the 2018/19 off-season.
In a pre-season testing preview released by Honda Racing Corporation itself during that recovery phase, it was said that Marquez’s physiotherapist had ordered his bikes be dismantled to prevent him from attempting to ride before the shoulder had sufficiently healed.
Of late, Honda has been far from forthcoming with updates on its superstar, although it did report his progress to be “satisfactory” upon a six-week check-up for the third arm operation.
That procedure was undertaken due to the discovery of pseudarthrosis (also known as a ‘non-union’ or ‘false joint’), and took place after Marquez had missed the balance of the season following his unsuccessful return at the second Jerez round.
Adding to the stakes is that the 27-year-old is now embarking on four-year contract, as announced in February 2020.
Pernat, who is known for his outspoken commentary, currently manages 2020 Moto2 champion and new Esponsorama Racing rider Enea Bastianini.
Pre-season testing commences in March, in Qatar.
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