Marc Marquez Cleared To Race In Austin As Diplopia Improves

By David Emmett | Wed, 06/04/2022 - 06:54

Marc Marquez' second bout of diplopia, or double vision, inside the space of six months has been resolved favorably. The Repsol Honda team today announced he would make his return in Austin, after being given the go ahead by his doctors.

The news was not a complete surprise. Marquez had posted earlier on Tuesday that he had been at Alcarras, riding a Honda CBR600RR, as a test of his eyesight. That test, and the examination by Dr Sanchez Dalmau, the ophthalmologist treating Marquez, showed that Marquez had improved enough to be able to take part in the Grand Prix of The Americas in Austin.

Marquez' current bout of diplopia had occurred after a monster highside during warm up for the Indonesian Grand Prix at Mandalika. Though he came away without breaking any bones, he was ruled out of the race with concussion, and on the flight home to Barcelona, he developed a mild case of double vision. His ophthalmologist prescribed a conservative approach, as he had after the problem occurred in October 2021, after Marquez had crashed during enduro training.

Marquez will be particularly keen to make his return at the Circuit of The Americas, because of his stellar record there. He has won there eight times, only missing out once in 2019, when an issue with engine braking caused him to crash. Despite his injury, his record in Texas suggests he will start the race as one of the favourites.

The press release from Honda appears below:

Marquez set for Austin return as Espargaro plots revenge

Marc Marquez will return to the MotoGP World Championship in Austin aboard his Repsol Honda Team RC213V after consultation and clearance from his medical team.

Doctors have cleared Marc Marquez for a return to Grand Prix competition after his fall in Warm Up at the Indonesian GP and subsequent diplopia diagnosis. The Repsol Honda Team rider has completed his conservative treatment plan and is ready to return to action at Round 4, the Grand Prix of The Americas in Austin, Texas. Before heading for the US, he confirmed his feelings and vision on a CBR600RR around the Alcarras circuit.

Marquez’s record around the Texan circuit speaks for itself, having only missed victory on one occasion when he crashed while comfortably leading in 2019. Even with his historic speed at the track, Marquez is not chasing immediate glory and is aiming to spend the weekend getting back up to speed with the Repsol Honda Team RC213V and continuing to build his feeling and speed on the new machine.

Pol Espargaro arrives in the United States of America with a point to prove after crashing out while chasing a podium in Argentina. Despite a mixed Saturday, Espargaro and his crew put everything in place to produce a strong race that showed more of the potential of the rider and the bike before the fall. In 2021, Espargaro finished tenth in Texas on the RC213V – his fourth top ten at the American circuit.

Aleix Espargaro sits atop the MotoGP World Championship with just 45 points after three races, Pol Espargaro is only 25 points back and despite missing two races, Marquez is 34 points from the top spot. With 18 races still left to run, and a potential of 450 points, it is still very much anyone’s championship.

Action at the 5.5-kilometer-long circuit commences at 09:55 Local Time on Friday, April 08. A unique schedule for the weekend will see the MotoGP race, running over 20 laps, start at 13:00 Local Time just before the Moto3 race which will conclude the day.

Marc Marquez

“Of course I am very happy to be back, it’s a great feeling to return and especially to do it at one of my favourite tracks. No matter the situation, I really enjoy riding in Texas and have incredible memories there. We have some work to do after missing two races and the whole Argentina weekend so I am not here to set one target at the moment. There’s many things to do and consider, but the important thing is that we are back on the bike this weekend.”

Pol Espargaro

“After the disappointment of last race I am looking forward to riding again this week. Austin was not the easiest circuit for us last year but with the new bike it’s interesting to come and compare what we did last year to this year. Already it looks like there will be many people in the mix for the championship this year so we need to get back to scoring points and putting together weekends like the start of the year. It’s time to get some more points on the board and start building something.”

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Comments

Wonderful! Welcome back Marc.

Now, can you finally keep a bit less hot sauce in your trousers and settle in to finish on the bike please and thank you? Sheezus man. My stomach can't take any more. Your despair needn't grab your right hand. NOTICE the feelings and thoughts you are having. They aren't reality. Nor are they "having you," it is the other way around. Sublimate. You won't be slower! Just steadier. Add a bit of weight to your inner flywheel. Be cool man. And win it at COTA!

..#93 will pay attention. Nobody with more authority/knowledge/experience, etc. than YOU has ever mentioned this before, but now that you've weighed-in all will be well. What is it about the internet that makes any dolt who can type think he/she is an expert on any/everything and anyone is going to take their advice? Reminds me of the old joke - "Go ahead, take my advice...I'm not using it!"

Marquez finished 5th in Qatar, acknowledging he didn't have the pace on the tyres at the end of the race and backing off to secure a good position. People would do well to remember that, it's really not that long ago. He knows the championship hasn't actually really started yet and that a points finish at COTA will help him a lot.

I’d dearly love for mm93 to win 10 titles….if only to make the rosserati have to come up with creative arguments fir why MM isn’t the goat!! But I have grave doubts. While I have no direct knowledge of MM’s health data…and am not a specialist…I do work in the health field. And he is v much living on borrowed time with the banging of his head when he crashes. If he keeps doing that…he won’t last v long at all. Can he cease crashing??If he can cease crashing….can he still win?? 

I feel bad for Marc. He is driven to a degree that does not seem healthy. I don't enjoy watching him anymore. I wish he could be happy with his incredible accomplishments and move on and enjoy life. He can still live normally for 60 years if he doesn't keep banging his head. I think it's sad that he has so much need to compete that he cannot allow himself to get healthy. What is the hole he's trying to fill but can't? He's talented at motorcycle racing but that is only one thing in this large, diverse world. I'm sad for how this is going to go. I didn't pick him in my top 5 because I knew he couldn't last. It's just so sad to watch knowing what's coming.

For sure Marc doesn't need advice or anything from us mere mortals, but my god I still hope he learns to be more careful. Being so crazy and wreckless is half of what got him his 6 MotoGP titles, but the championship is a lesser place without him in it, and to see him throw away his health so casually and often... it's sad. Plenty of riders have done it throughout history, and too many people praise the cavalier, "tough guy" attitude endemic in motorsport. But they do it from the comfort of their couch, not being the ones to put their wellbeing on the line. I'd rather see Marc "settle" for a 3rd or 4th place more often, and keep him around, than watch him push for the win and finally have that career-ending crash we all feel is around the corner. Godspeed Marc.

Everytime he's gone out the last few months it's gotten to the point I have a hard time watching.

It seems to bring back memories of Marco Simoncelli's crash. 

I can't wait to see him back on track making new and interesting shapes on two wheels. I don't think he is reckless or dangerous. I think he knows well what he is doing. He knows what he is doing in terms of riding a bike, that much is obvious. I also think he knows well about how much risk he is taking and how much risk he is prepared to take. He has many years juggling these issues. I think he likes racing bikes and winning. He's a bike racer, he enjoys racing bikes. He doesn't like losing. Although he obviously has a certain weakness with his goggles, compared to the other riders he has had no more knocks to the head than they have had. It's interesting to note that some (nobody here) viewed Lorenzo's injuries with a good scratch of the chin, an excuse maybe. Lorenzo couldn't beat Marc, he couldn't master the Honda, he is running away etc. Yet when Marc doesn't 'run away' and behaves as they would have wished Lorenzo to behave he is suddenly a Greek tragedy. I feel, a very large portion of everything surrounding these events has very little to do with the reality of the Marquez household.

My opinion only.

You know how people who used to wax lyrical about Gilles Villeneuve, Colin Mcrae.... All of those "All in" athletes that never quite had the results despite their speed. 
Well here is a guy with the same attitude, talent AND RESULTS. And people can't stop b*tching about him. Yeah right, you, who thinks marc should be relaxing in a beach somewhere, would've won the 2016 and 2017 championships with that attitude. Even if you had the talent and the opportunity. You would've come back from the grid to win three times over. 

It wasn't pointed at you dude. There are plenty of people who think they would do differently if they were Marc Marquez. But they are not Marc Marquez and this is one of the reasons why. 

I wrote that he should be satisfied and get out with his health so I took your comment personally. I apologize for making a smart-assed remark to you. We all have our opinions on this and Marc is going to do what he is going to do. I don't like cringing anymore, so I hope he doesn't end up like I fear. But I'll be watching and hoping for the best. Cheers!

Sorry I didn't think it would come across as personal. Go to any comment section that has Marc anywhere in it, and you'll see comments to the same effect. So when I said "you". It meant all of them. Maverick Vinales is as Talented as Marc according to most people. The mindset is what separates a rider who is unbeatable when everything works from a rider who comes within tenths of winning a race on his bad days. 

He is 29. He isn't 39. That bang to his head was pretty horrible. Not something that happens everyday. The concussion was pretty bad. He couldn't even stand up properly. So if anything, the fact that he recovered from it within two weeks (I think he was ok last week and this was just precautionary), will give him confidence. 

I was hoping he would be ruled out of Austin as well. If he thinks the championship is out of reach, he will knuckle down and concentrate on working with the bike. Once he gets his old feeling back, I am confident he will be a championship force to reckon with. I don't think he will ever again put a slick tyre on a raining track and go 2.5 seconds faster than everyone else and maybe that's good. But it kinda makes me sad. There is less magic. 

He's got it all. Its telling how many in our world weigh safety over bravery, rationality over boldness. Yet, at the same time, they want a star, a hero, a champion. Not sure how that could ever square up but speaking out of both sides of one's mouth is commonplace today so I suppose it should come as no surprise.

Perhaps a character such as Andrea Ianonne is a more the ideal champion. He was amazingly talented and fast but also had other interests which he surely prioritized to some extent, surely limiting the what would have been put up with from motorcycle racing. Consider his botched botox in 2019 which forced him to miss the Sepang test, or the "tainted meat" scandal from later that year. Never won a title in GP's and only 1 win in Motogp but he was fun to watch and I do believe a quick internet search will reveal he spent time on the beach.

I don't recall which year it was but there was a documentary on MM where he said he was throwing it at the fence. He would come back to the garage and say "if you don't give me the bike I need I'll keep throwing it at the fence". It feels like these last 2 years it's the bike that's been throwing him. I really hope he takes the time to understand the new Honda and then starts to boss it around as is his want.

I really want Quarty to win again but the championshiop is better with someone like Marc in it.

I assume it's the quest for immortality, that gives some guys (mostly guys but not only i think) the drive to go beyond borders an average human would hardly recognize. Motorcycle racing isn't big in Austria, downhill skiing is big and kids at any age recognize skiers as their rolemodels and skiing is the kind of sports you teach your children.

Hermann Maier was a guy that overshadowed his competitors by far in his prime and to achieve that he boldly went where almost nobody went before and then he crashed - to take it in comparison it would be like themarc would have highsided over the fences outside of the track (search for "Maier Nagano 1998" and watch it on youtube) - three days later he won the olympic gold medal on the next race he started and his comment was ... If i win i will be immortal ...

Many, if not most, sports now have a concussion protocol because over the years it's gotten pretty obvious that continued whacks to the head do permanent damage. Something that the Moto GP med people should consider, imo.

Austin weather:

Sunny and on the warmer end of great is expected through Saturday. Sat is a bit hotter than Fri.

Thunderstorms are slated to come in Sunday night and stick around a few days. Sunday mave have a shower. 

If the weather comes just a bit earlier than expected...? Hmm. Could be mixed conditions. 

^ I think a couple comments up there are a bit much. When folks make things a touch less personal it seems to make for better discussion, and your points can come across better? It might not feel as exciting for a moment, but more goes on. 

Perhaps nothing that hasn’t been said about him, but I am of two (or three) minds about Marc.

He single-handedly changed the way bikes were being ridden, elbow down, front-end saves, it really brought on a whole generation shift. Some of the older riders never got around to it and even some of the younger aren’t that mobile on the bike or hanging off of it. Front end saves, he is King. But… (big but)… - if anyone has the time to do so, I certainly don’t unfortunately - my gut is saying this loud and clear and ignore at own expense, aren’t the extreme hangers-offers making inroads? Fabio vs Morbidelli? JM89 versus Pecco? Is there something here? If there is, MM was definitely one of the first and best.

The thing that makes me sad is that his injuries are preventing him from doing it and he is not accepting that. Probably because it hurts to accept? Admitting a lessening of ability, accepting the onset of age, injury? He isn’t THAT Marc at the moment. And whatever I think of his other personal traits, this I would love to see return. What an ATHLETE!

The part I’ve never appreciated much is the red mist he sometimes seems to be a victim of.

So perhaps I’m not a fan of the man, but boy would I love to see the athlete return!

 

 

Red mist Marc is what he is deep down. Everything else he does is what he puts on top of that to suppress it. I watched this interview with a CIA spy who said that if you deprive a person of their resources, they will default back to their base personality. They use this aspect to extract information. That is kinda what happens to Marc. When he has extra resources available to him (speed on the bike, confidence, things going according to plan....) he can keep it suppressed. When he gets backed into a wall, the marc deep down comes out. All things considered, he's done pretty well to keep it suppressed. You and I would've broken a long time ago. 

no phycology expert ….. but I would imagine mm has adhd like the rest of the riders and probably like most of the paddocks the world over. 
Looking for adrenaline as a natural brain enhancement. Ability to hyper focus. The phenomenon of time slowing down when undergoing fight or flight. The ability to act on instinct and not think through consequences.  Coupled with the total lack of self awareness and ability to consider one’s actions in hindsight. 
adhd is a spectrum we are all on it but clearly the advantages of it are going to allow you to be a good bike racer. They will also likely get you injured. 

I developed a dislike for him as a racer in Moto 2 but became full of admiration of his bike riding skills in MotoGP. I never wish ill health on anyone so I hope the future treats him well in this regard. I don't like anyone telling me what to do with my life so I'll refrain, unlike others apparently, in suggesting / telling him what to do with his life.