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The Repsol Honda team has announced that Marc Marquez is to miss the Argentina round of MotoGP at the Termas de Rio Hondo circuit. The Spaniard met with the specialist treating him for diplopia, or double vision, on Monday, who judged that it would be better for him to sit out the race weekend taking place in Argentina.

There was good news too, however. Confirming Marc Marquez' own report that the diplopia was nowhere near as bad as the bout he suffered after a training crash at the end of last year, Dr Sanchez Dalmau noted that Marquez' condition was progressing well, and his vision was improving rapidly. That holds out hope for Marquez that he could make a return for the Austin round of MotoGP, a track where he has previously dominated. That could also explain why the Repsol Honda press release only ruled Marquez out for Argentina, and made no mention of Austin, which happens the week after Argentina.

The Repsol Honda press release appears below:

Marc Marquez to miss Grand Prix of Argentina

The Repsol Honda Team rider has already shown very favourable improvements with his diplopia after visiting the Hospital Clínic and an examination from Dr. Sánchez Dalmau.

Marc Marquez visited his ophthalmologist, Dr. Sánchez Dalmau, at the Hospital Clínic in Barcelona yesterday, Monday, where he underwent his second medical check-up after the crash in Warm Up for the Indonesian GP a week ago. In this new examination, Dr. Sánchez Dalmau confirmed that Marc Marquez’s diplopia shows a notable improvement and reaffirms that the progression of his vision is very favourable. As happened with the last episode of diplopia, Marc Marquez will continue to carry out a conservative treatment regime with regular check-ups.

The Repsol Honda Team rider will not take part in the next round of the MotoGP World Championship that takes place this weekend in Argentina as he continues his recovery.

Doctor Sánchez Dalmau
Ophthalmologist

“The second neuro-ophthalmological evaluation carried out on Marc Marquez this past Monday has shown a very favourable evolution in the paralysis of the fourth right nerve affected by the fall that occurred at the Indonesian Grand Prix. Recovery is not yet complete, and Marc Marquez must follow the established therapeutic regime with conservative treatment.”

Marc Marquez has suffered yet another injury setback on his long road to recovery. He has been diagnosed with another episode of diplopia, or double vision, after his huge highside in the morning warm up before the Indonesian Grand Prix at Mandalika.

Marquez was ruled unfit after the crash, and did not take part in the race at Mandalika. At the time, he had undergone scans to check for broken bones and brain trauma, but the scans turned up nothing serious. Fearing a concussion, however, Marquez was not allowed to ride, a decision he and his team supported.

During his trip back to Spain, however, he started to suffer vision problems again. On arrival in Barcelona, he met with the opthalmologist who has been treating him during his previous bouts with double vision, and he was diagnosed with diplopia again. The only ray of light in this situation is that this episode is less severe than the previous bout he suffered at the end of 2021.

There is no schedule for a return to action for Marquez. He is due to start the same conservative regime of treatment and therapy, and will undergo new checks next week, to determine how long his recovery might take. Though the press release gives no indication of when Marquez might race again, it seems unlikely he will participate at either Argentina or Austin, as those two races are back-to-back.

The injury is a massive blow to Marquez, another one in a long string of physical problems starting with surgery on his left shoulder to prevent it from dislocating at the end of 2018, then the same surgery on the left shoulder at the end of 2019, and a complicated recovery from that. At the first race of 2020 at Jerez, Marquez had a huge crash at Turn 4 in which he was hit by the bike and fractured his right arm. A mistaken attempt to return a week later saw the plate holding his arm together fatally weakened, setting off a long period of recovery as the humerus bone became infected and did not heal.

Marquez started to slowly recover his form through the 2021 season, and was just hitting his stride when he crashed on an enduro bike, further damaging the nerve in his right eye which he had originally damaged at Sepang in 2011, at the end of his first season in Moto2. Dr Sanchez Dalmau, the specialist treating Marquez, decided against surgery, and the Spaniard rehabbed using a course of physical therapy.

Marquez' crash at Mandalika was so severe that he banged his head, damaging the nerve which controls the muscles in his eye again. The crash happened during morning warm up, when the rear of his Honda came round on him at Turn 7 on a closed throttle, before gripping and then viciously spitting him off and up into the air. Marquez came down heavily, and was lucky not to be more severely injured.

The crash happened after all the Hondas and the Suzukis complained of a lack of rear grip from the harder construction rear tire Michelin had brought to the race, fearing the extreme tropical heat would cause problems for the tires used at the test. There were instances throughout the weekend of the rear letting go unexpectedly, as clouds and damp conditions kept track temperatures much lower than expected.

Marquez' injury will raise questions over when, and if, he will return. But speaking at the Sepang test, the Repsol Honda rider had already accepted the risk of a recurrence of the injury if he crashed. "This is one point that when I spoke to my doctor, it was my first question. If I crash in the Malaysia test, what is the possibility to create the same problem again? And the answer was clear: the possibility is the same that you will have in two years. The nerve problem is there. If you crash tomorrow or you crash in two years and you touch that nerve again, it will be damaged."

Marquez knew the risks, and took them anyway. How this injury affects his mental fortitude and ability and willingness to race remains to be seen. But this, yet another in a long line of incidence, will surely test his resolve.

The press release from the Repsol Honda team appears below:

Marc Marquez diagnosed with a new episode of diplopia upon his arrival in Spain

The Repsol Honda Team rider experiences another episode of diplopia as a result of the heavy fall suffered during Warm Up for the Indonesian Grand Prix.

Marc Marquez was declared unfit for the Indonesian Grand Prix held at the Mandalika circuit after suffering a high side at Turn 7 during Warm Up prior to the race.

The MotoGP medical team confirmed that Marquez suffered a concussion and several minor traumas before being transferred to the hospital in Mataram, the capital of the island of Lombok, where he underwent a more exhaustive medical examination and a CT scan in which major injuries were ruled out. As a precaution, the MotoGP medical team together with the Repsol Honda Team jointly decided that Marc Marquez would not take part in the Indonesian race.

During the journey back to Spain, Marc Marquez began to experience discomfort with his vision and upon his arrival in Barcelona on Monday, he had an emergency visit to the Hospital Clínic de Barcelona with his trusted ophthalmologist, Dr. Sánchez Dalmau, who after an examination confirmed a relapse in the diplopia that the rider suffered last November.

This morning, the Spanish rider visited his medical team, led by Dr. Samuel Antuña, at the Ruber Internacional Hospital in Madrid, where Marquez underwent a general medical check-up to evaluate all the bruises caused by the crash and a brain MRI. This has reconfirmed that he did not suffer any other injuries.

Doctor Sánchez Dalmau
Ophthalmologist

“The neuro-ophthalmological evaluation carried out on Marc Marquez on Monday after the head injury that occurred at the Indonesian Grand Prix, shows a new episode of diplopia caused by a recurrence of paralysis of the fourth right nerve, with less involvement than the one that occurred in the injury in November 2021. After this examination, it was initially decided to follow a conservative treatment with periodic medical tests. Next week, Marc Márquez will undergo a new check-up to evaluate the evolution of the injury and to predict the estimated recovery period to return to competition.”

The 2020 Covid-19 pandemic threw a spanner into the works for MotoGP in all sorts of ways. In response to the pandemic, the MSMA decided on an engine and aerodynamics freeze for 2020 and 2021, to limit costs in a time of uncertainty.

That went a long way to restraining costs, but as the world adapted to the pandemic, and it became clear that a global economic crisis had been averted, development budgets started to rise again. Even more so when people started using the money that travel restrictions prevented them from spending on vacations to buy new motorcycles and accessories.

With engine development frozen, MotoGP engineers turned their minds to finding advantages in other areas. Factories went all in on the holeshot devices which had made their debut at the end of 2018 and through 2019, transforming them from devices used only at the start to become adjustable ride-height devices, used throughout the race to improve acceleration and corner exit. Faster speeds on corner exit meant higher speeds on the straight, and as a result, higher braking forces.

That has had a knock-on effect on Michelin's development program as well. Since 2019, Michelin has been working on a new front tire, with more support, to improve corner entry and braking stability. The tire had been tested in 2019, with more tests scheduled in 2020 to finalize development ahead of an introduction in 2021. But with the 2020 calendar and test schedule completely rewritten, that idea had to be abandoned.

With 2022 promising to be something of a return to normality (pandemic and war permitting), this could have been the season where work on the front tire resumed. But the development of MotoGP bikes in the past two season has forced a rethink, because the design parameters have moved on.

"We are still working on the front," Michelin boss Piero Taramasso told me when I spoke to him at the Sepang MotoGP test. "We will make some adjustments, and the tests will be done in 2023, to be introduced for 2024." The added aerodynamics and braking forces had changed the demands placed on the front tire. "Basically it's delayed, because we are working to improve the temperature and the pressure control. Now when you have the slipstream, the tendency of the front tire is to overheat. So we are working on that, to try to better control that point."

The behavior of the MotoGP bikes had changed a lot over the two years of the pandemic, Taramasso said. "We realized in the past two seasons, that bikes are changing, they are putting more and more weight on the front, with the winglets, and riders are braking very very hard. So the load is changing, so we had to also change the development to adapt to that." With the front tire being subjected to higher loads, the front would have to offer even more support.

The stronger front had originally been expected to help both the Hondas and KTMs, as the bikes which demanded the most from the front under braking. But with the redesign of the RC213V to move the weight distribution more rearward, the Honda is now less dependent on the front tire for its lap time. The bike has more rear grip, and so more drive out of corners, and the ability to use the rear tire to assist in braking.

Development of the front tire may be delayed until 2024, but Michelin will be continuing development of a new rear tire ahead of the 2023 season. "We have some new things, a rear casing," Taramasso told me at Sepang.

The MotoGP riders had already tested the tire in 2021, and had brought it to Sepang for further testing. "This rear casing we already tested last year in Barcelona, in Misano, in Jerez. It's a new solution to improve the warm up and to improve the edge grip. So this solution, if it works, we will test it again this season. It may be introduced next year, for 2023."

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Suzuki's quest for a team manager is at an end. After a year of searching for a replacement for Davide Brivio, who left MotoGP to join the Alpine F1 team at the end of 2020, Suzuki have finally announced the hiring of Livio Suppo to run the MotoGP team. Suppo is a very experienced team manager, having set up Ducati's MotoGP team when they first entered the class back in 2003, and having run the Repsol Honda squad after leaving Ducati at the end of 2009.

Suppo's hiring came after Suzuki had talked to a range of candidates. They had talks with Wilco Zeelenberg, but Zeelenberg was committed to the RNF project with Razlan Razali, and having worked with Yamaha in once capacity or another since he retired from racing at the end of the 2000 season, preferred to stay within the Yamaha family. There had also been rumors of Johan Stigefelt joining Suzuki, after the Swedish ex-racer's ousting when Petronas Yamaha disbanded to become RNF, but that never went much beyond rumor.

Suppo had expressed an interest in joining Suzuki at the start of the 2021 season, but Suzuki had decided it was better to wait until the off season to make a decision. Talks have been going on since the start of the year, and have only just finalized now.

Suppo's first job will be to oversee the re-signing of current riders Joan Mir and Alex Rins. Keeping Mir on board had looked a tricky proposition prior to the Sepang test, the 2020 world champion expressing dissatisfaction with the progress Suzuki made. Mir's public opinion changed drastically after Sepang, the 2022 GSX-RR being the step forward he had hoped for.

The press release appears below:

SUZUKI ANNOUNCES THE ARRIVAL OF LIVIO SUPPO

Team Suzuki Press Office – February 23rd

Suzuki Motor Corporation and Team Suzuki Ecstar join forces in the announcement that Livio Suppo will take up the position of Team Manager for Team Suzuki Ecstar with immediate effect. It’s no secret that the Project Leader, Shinichi Sahara, has been looking for a Team Manager to step into the squad for 2022. After a transitional 2021 season in which the team were forced to create a management committee, with Sahara assuming the role of Team Manager ad interim, a solution has been found and an agreement has been reached ahead of season opener in Qatar on March 6th.

Livio Suppo is a well-known manager in the MotoGP paddock. He began his career 28 years ago with Benetton Honda Team in the 125cc and 250cc classes. Since then he has enjoyed 11 years with Ducati as a Project Leader, which included the crowning of Casey Stoner as champion. He then moved to HRC where he was the Team Principal for seven years, and a further five titles were achieved. Since his departure from MotoGP, Suppo has set up a successful e-bike company, but he feels now is the perfect time to step back into the paddock.

For Team Suzuki Ecstar, Suppo’s arrival gives a further boost of confidence ahead of a season where an increase in performance compared with last year is necessary. Following the winter tests both Joan Mir and Alex Rins felt positive about their possibilities for the season ahead, and the addition of an experienced and successful manager who has a strong belief in team work and enjoys working in an upbeat atmosphere will no doubt lift the Suzuki squad’s spirits further.

Shinichi Sahara - Team Suzuki Ecstar Project Leader

“I'm very happy to announce the news of Livio Suppo as our new Team Manager before the new season starts. I'm confident that Livio is very well suited for the position, because he has a lot of experience and a big passion for winning. He understands how teams work and that team atmospheres are important when it comes to being competitive consistently during a season. Some of our crew members already have experience of working with him, and I’ve known him for long time because he’s been in the paddock for many years. We’ve already seen promising signs and improvements in our performance during winter testing, and I believe Livio joining us will bolster our team further and we will become even stronger.”


Livio Suppo - Team Suzuki Ecstar Manager

“I am very proud to become Suzuki Ecstar’s Team Manager and happy to re-join the MotoGP Championship after four years. I’m also very honored to be involved in this great project with Suzuki; for sure it will be a challenging task to be part of an historic manufacturer in MotoGP, who recently achieved the crown in 2020 in the year of their 100th anniversary. I also feel it will be a great experience to start working with two talented riders like Joan Mir and Alex Rins, both capable of fighting for the top in MotoGP. Sahara-san’s proposal came at the perfect time for me, I had been busy setting up my e-bike company but I was certainly missing the paddock and ready to come back. Racing has been my life, for almost all my career, and I will do my best to bring my experience to Team Suzuki Ecstar. I know they are a great team, but also a great group of humans, so this could help a lot to achieve our goals sooner. MotoGP nowadays is more and more exciting, with many very fast riders and competitive motorcycles from all manufacturers. It’s a difficult challenge for everybody involved, where all the small details can make the difference, I am ready to be part of the game again and give my all to be on top with Suzuki.”