Marc Márquez will miss the Argentine Grand Prix of MotoGP, which will be held this weekend at the Termas de Río Hondo racetrack, due to the problems of diplopia that he experiences after his fall in the Mandalika circuit on March 20. The Repsol Honda team has confirmed this point through a statement which invites us to think that the recovery of the Catalan rider is on the right track and that it is possible that his return to the World Championship is not as far away as might be feared at first.
The injury from which the man from Cervera is now recovering was the final straw in a weekend to forget in Indonesia. #93 failed to qualify for Q2 after crashing during FP2. He did not raise his head in Q1 either, suffering two consecutive crashes when he was trying to be among the top two. However, the worst came on Sunday, since Márquez suffered a spectacular fall in the ‘warm up’ and ends up being declared unfit to compete. It was not, however, until the trip back to Spain that began to experience vision problems.
The relapse in the paralysis of the fourth right nerve was confirmed by Dr. Sánchez Dalmau in a first emergency review. Márquez returned to visit his trusted ophthalmologist this Monday at the Hospital Clinic in Barcelona for a new assessment in which a notable improvement in the diplopia he suffers and a very favorable evolution of his vision was confirmed. Honda has confirmed that its reference rider will continue with the conservative treatment prescribed until now, with regular check-ups.
This was detailed by Dr. Sanchez Dalmau in the statement released by the Japanese brand: «The second neuro-ophthalmological evaluation carried out on Marc Márquez this past Monday has shown a very favorable evolution of the right fourth nerve palsy affected by the fall suffered in the Indonesian Grand Prix. Recovery is not yet complete and Marc Márquez must follow the established therapeutic regimen with conservative treatment».
Waiting to find out when the Catalan will return to competition and if his place will be taken by another rider until then, Márquez’s absence in Argentina is especially painful for Honda. The eight-time World Champion has climbed to the top of the podium on this circuit three times in the 2014, 2015 and 2019 seasons. Successes that contrast with the 2018 edition of the Argentine round, where the rider was sanctioned three times after starring in a new clash with Valentino Rossi.
Photos: Repsol-Honda